Growing Pains
by Leiyoi
Summary: AU. What is a kiss? Something one gives to their beloved. An unspoken promise. But, wait. What's this? Someone just gave Luffy a kiss! A little boy in a big city. Luffy's story starts!
1. Chapter 1

SUMMARY: [AU] What is a kiss? Something one gives to their beloved. An unspoken promise. But, wait. What's this? Someone just gave Luffy a kiss? A little boy in a big city. Luffy's story starts!

**.:.**

**Growing Pains**

**.:.**

(Listening to Memories. One Piece 1st ending)

Behind every person and every thing, there is a story. One that grows and builds over time. A weed spreading steadily through a small garden. The sprouting of a new tree. A horse's firstborn. Each has its own story to tell. Some decide to keep their stories to themselves, although they yearn to share them. Others may show their stories boldly, with or without words. But in each story, there is growth and changing relationships. And this story is not exempt from the never ending process of growth and change.

Monkey D. Luffy was a boy who was always straightforward and honest about his feelings. If he didn't like you, he would say that he didn't like you. If he wanted you to be his friend, you would be his friend. He was a young man who kept all the promises he made. And right at this moment, this black haired boy was making his way out of the train station, wearing only a light red vest and tattered jean shorts while holding a small bag over his shoulder. A dusty looking straw hat hung limp on his back, with only a string tied around his neck to keep it in place. After pushing past the people crossing in and out of the underground train, Luffy stopped at the top of the stairs leading up from the station. He glanced curiously from left to right, taking in all the new sights and sounds around him. There were buildings as far as his eyes could see that towered over him by sixteen floors, reaching up to the sky. The sidewalk was stained with the dust from the thousands of feet that crossed each day. Exhaust from the buses and cars passing by trailed behind, leaving the hot and dry stink of oil in the air. Luffy grinned and watched the new environment with wide eyes. It was a world that he would've never imagined. Who knew so many strangers could be in one place at once? He maneuvered his way through the people, who were scurrying about the stairs like working ants, and started walking in one direction with a spring in his step. Where would he be going? Well, that was the question. He didn't really know himself. But the truth was, faced with the thrilling adventure of city life, Luffy had completely forgotten that before he had set foot on the train, his uncle had given him instructions to find the Academy of Arts, a school he had been invited to attend.

Now, among all the tall buildings of Lohm City, the tallest of them was the world famous Academy of Arts. It was tall, silver, and was extremely hard to miss in a bleak place such as Lohm City. And, of course, Monkey D. Luffy coincidentally set his sights upon this academy, unsuspecting that his life as he knew it would be drastically changed.

"Woah…" The black haired boy froze mid-step as his eyes landed upon the enormous tower of silver shooting up through the clouds. _Ping!_ That was the sound of Luffy's mind getting an idea. A mischievous grin spread along his lips and his brown eyes twinkled in excitement. In a flash, he was racing towards the silver building, dodging agilely through the crowds of people who did not notice or pay attention to the great structure before their eyes. Luffy laughed as he rounded another corner, sprinting ever closer towards the silver academy. As he ran, buildings bobbed past, almost as if trying to block him from the enormous silver building. They shouted at him, "Look at me! Look at me!" But Luffy merely rounded another corner and watched as the silver building came ever closer and larger than before.

Now, as in life, we are to expect the unexpected. Maybe you were lying back in a chair peacefully and then as you decide to straighten up, a strand of your hair gets caught in the chair, tugging at your scalp painfully. Or maybe you are crunching your way through a pile of leaves and never bother to notice that a pile of slumbering ladybugs are being crushed by your shoes. Surprises come in all forms. And as Luffy rounded his third corner, he was about to get one. They always did say, "Three is a charm!"

As Monkey D. Luffy rounded the corner at a pace the human eye could barely keep up with, the black haired boy was too distracted by the silver building to notice another young man, who was also distracted by the time on his mobile phone, sprinting around the same corner at the same time as Luffy. When Luffy finally noticed, he had no time to dodge the young man before him.

"Ah!" He let out just before the two slammed into each other. Their bodies bashed into each other with a loud _plack!_ The sound of flesh meeting flesh at high speeds. And before Luffy could do anything about it, the stranger's lips crushed into his in a simple and accidental coincidence. A tingling feeling, something like a warm static, ran up Luffy's spine and tickled at the back of his neck. The black haired boy blinked and watched dumbly as the stranger moved back and caught him by the shoulders before he bounced backwards onto the pavement. The stranger started to stare at him in confusion.

"Hey, you all right?" The man asked in a gruff tone. Luffy merely stared at him, too shocked to utter a sound not to mention respond to the man's question. The man frowned and furrowed his eyebrows before shrugging and running in the direction he had been running in, completely dismissing the fact that the person he had run into had just had his first kiss taken away. Just like that. It only took a millisecond. Luffy's body turned in the direction of the man and followed his back with his eyes. Green hair… That man had green hair… Luffy's lips were still parted, feeling the tingling and throbbing feeling of having foreign lips being crushed upon his own. Those lips had been slightly rough, yet warm and soft. How strange… and there was a mysterious feeling spreading throughout his body. As if he had just been engulfed in a gust of hot steam. The boy blinked again, staring in bewilderment at the street the green haired man had disappeared in. Who was that man? And why did he give him a kiss? The boy was completely dumbstruck. He could hardly think anymore. A salty metallic taste in his mouth was what brought him back from his temporary brain paralysis. Was that…blood? He ignored the taste and grinned goofily. It was his first kiss after all. Anyone watching him at that very moment would've thought he was crazy: a boy standing in the streets, smiling goofily as fresh blood trickled down from his gums to his teeth. But Luffy didn't care. Someone had just given him a kiss! Wasn't that strange? And he had just gotten here…

**.:.**

_A little boy hummed to himself, clutching onto the hand of a red haired man. His sandaled feet hit the dirt path with a loud plat! with every step he took. The boy looked up through his black bangs and grinned widely at the red haired man holding his hand. Then he stared at the path lined with leafy green trees, his grin pasted on his face as if nothing could tear it away. As the two made their way around a bend in the path, the boy noticed a cozy bench, and sitting in it was a man and a woman. He blinked at the couple. They sure were close to each other. In fact, their heads looked stuck together. The boy tilted his head in curiosity, watching the two people with round eyes. Now that he was closer to the bench, he could see that the lips of the two people were pressed against each other. The boy glanced up at the red haired man he was holding hands with._

_"Shanks? What are they doing?" The boy pointed at the two people with his free hand. He could feel that the man's steps were starting to pick up and the boy quickened his footsteps so that he could keep up. As the two walked further along the path and away from the bench, the boy frowned in annoyance, wondering why Shanks hadn't answered him yet. He dug his heels into the dirt and stared at the red haired man fiercely. "Shanks!" The man paused before smiling down at the boy._

_"All right, Luffy." He sighed and crouched down to the boy's level, grinning sheepishly. "I knew this would happen one day..." He frowned slightly and stared off into the distance. "Didn't think it would be today..."_

_Luffy scowled at Shanks and crossed his arms over his chest. "You're still not telling me! What were they doing? They had their faces stuck together!"_

_The red haired man chuckled and then patted the boy's head. "Ah, Luffy. That is called 'kissing'."_

_"Kissing?" The boy stared into Shanks's eyes in confusion. "When people stick their heads together, they're kissing?"_

_"Kissing, kiss, kisses," The man shrugged his shoulders and smiled at Luffy. "When people's lips touch, they call that magical moment a 'kiss'."_

_Luffy glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the bench and started whispering to Shanks. "So...those two were 'kissing', right?"_

_"That's right!" Shanks laughed and ruffled the boy's black hair affectionately. Luffy swatted away the man's hand and frowned._

_"But why were they 'kissing'?"_

_The man abruptly stopped laughing and scratched at his head. "Well...that's because..."_

_Luffy waited as Shanks scratched at his red hair for another moment. The boy pouted in annoyance. It wasn't such a hard question! Why did those two people stick their lips together? Shanks had mentioned that it was 'a magical moment'...maybe there was a magic spell that stuck the two people together?_

_"Ah! Okay, here we go." The red haired man smirked and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "They were kissing because..." Luffy nodded in anticipation, eyes turning round with curiosity. "It's because they are making a promise to one another!" Shanks spoke with finality. Luffy stared at the man, watching as he grinned proudly at himself._

_"...That's lame!"_

_Shanks spluttered and nearly fell over. "Hey hey! Is that the way to speak to your uncle after he kindly answered your question?"_

_The black haired boy frowned and pointed in the direction of the two people kissing. "If they were just making a promise, they don't have to stick their lips together!"_

_The man sighed and pushed the boy's finger down to the side. "Okay, listen closely. A kiss is not just a normal promise."_

_Luffy's eyes widened. "Not a normal promise? What does that mean?"_

_"Shh...Let me finish." Shanks smiled at the boy, "It's a magical promise that shows that they belong to the person receiving the kiss."_

_"Belong...?" Luffy's eyes went round again._

_"If a person gives you a kiss, it means that they want to be with you for a long long time. It's a promise to you that they want to be with you. So don't give kisses to just anyone, all right?"_

_"Give kisses to people you want to be with for a long long time. And give kisses to people you want to belong to. Got it!" Luffy grinned happily. Shanks stared at the boy skeptically. Did he really understand? His explanation really wasn't good enough. There were so many other factors involved in kissing... The man sighed. Oh well, he could always tell the kid about it another day..._

"_Shanks?"_

"_Hm?" The red haired man stood up and patted his pants of any dust from the dirt path._

"_What are they doing now?" The black haired boy pointed at the man who had started to suck and nibble at different places along the woman's neck, causing deep moans to emit from her throat. Shanks froze, his eyes nearly bugging out from his eye sockets._

"_Uhhh…well, Luffy. Let's go somewhere else first…" The man started to usher the boy away from the area._

**.:.**

Monkey D. Luffy stood still in the streets of Lohm City, staring at the empty avenue the green haired man had just run down. He brought a hand up lightly to his lips and blinked as his fingers came away with red blood.

"Wow…" The young man stared at his fingers in bewilderment. "What a kiss…! Shanks never said anything about bleeding..." Nor did he mention anything about all the weird, crazy, fluttery aftereffects that were suddenly engulfing his body. Maybe that was the magic working? He quickly wiped his fingers on his red vest and started chasing after the man, wondering why he had run off so quickly after giving him a kiss. Didn't that guy want to be with him? After all, kisses were given to people you wanted to be with for a long long time, right? Luffy raced around a few curbs, twisting through the city, searching for the elusive green haired man. But try as he might, Luffy just couldn't find the man he had shared his first kiss with. It was strange. Why would someone who wanted to be with him for a long long time be hiding from him?

Wait…what was that? There was a flash of green around that building!

Monkey D. Luffy grinned happily and jumped around the corner only to spot that the bit of green had disappeared yet again. The young man frowned and his brown eyes studied the large street steadily. There were so many people… how would he ever spot one person in such a crowd? Just as he was about to lose hope, he saw it! There was a bit of green among the heads of the people crossing the street. The pedestrian light was still green, albeit flashing slightly. Luffy smiled and sped into the dispersing crowd, searching around for the green haired man who had kissed him. Where could he be? There weren't that many people crossing the street anymore. It should be easier to find someone with green hair now… And then suddenly, there was no one on the street anymore. A loud _beeee!_ made Luffy jump and turn his attention away from the people on the sidewalk. The light had just changed! He yelped and leapt back as a black van rushed past him. Geez, some people sure weren't patient…!

The young man stood marooned in the middle of the street, peering around for the green haired man. How hard could it be to find that guy…? He had green hair for heaven's sake! Luffy crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance, waiting for the pedestrian light to change again. As he observed his surroundings, the black haired boy noticed that the silver tower he had originally been running to was now right before his eyes. All he needed to do was cross the street and he'd be there! Luffy's mouth formed an 'o' of awe and his eyes traveled up the building, wondering exactly how tall the entire building was. It was shining brightly and the top of the building was blocked by a circle of cloud.

"That's amazing…" Luffy sighed, letting his eyes wander down to the entrance of the academy, which was decorated with two large glass doors. Over the glass doors, the words 'Lohm City - Academy of Arts' hung shining in brass. The words hit Luffy with surprise, like a sack of lumpy flour that had just keeled over to the ground. He came to Lohm City to enroll in the Academy of Arts! And the silver tower was the very academy he would be studying in! The boy laughed at himself and stared at his to-be school. How lucky could he get? As his eyes skimmed over the entrance of the silver tower, he noticed a spot of green inside. The boy gasped. Could it be possible? The man who had kissed him also attended the same school as him…? How could there be so much coincidence in one day?

The pedestrian light finally changed and the cars stopped speeding across the road. Luffy let out a cry of glee, surprising the people across the street, and ran over the white stripes marking the pedestrian walk. He burst through the glass doors of the academy and glanced from left to right. The walls were painted with a comforting white and a few paintings full of color decorated the walls. In the left hallway, there were teenagers walking in and out wearing navy blue uniforms with silver buttons and embroidery. As Luffy quickly turned to face the hallway to his right, he found a spot of green disappearing around the wall. At last! He had finally caught up with that green haired man…!

"May I help you, sir?" A woman's voice came from the main desk, which was conveniently set against the middle wall between the two hallways so that any confused visitors could easily spot it. But Monkey D. Luffy paid no attention to the woman addressing him and flew around the corner. The green was right in front of him and the black haired boy pounced on it without another thought.

"I got you!" Luffy shouted happily, tackling the person to the black marble ground. He heard the person under his arms yelp in shock and he blinked in surprise. That didn't sound like a noise a man would make…! Luffy focused his eyes upon the person under him and tilted his head in confusion. "Ah-re..?" An orange haired girl. An orange haired girl was under him. Strange… he had thought that the green haired man was the one he had jumped on.

"Get off of Nami-san, you bastard!" Luffy felt something impact his head before he went flying into a wall. The black haired boy held his head in pain and looked up with a pout upon his lips. What the heck was that for? Why did someone hit him when he didn't even hurt anyone? Luffy watched as a blonde haired man knelt beside the girl named Nami and tried to help her up. But, she batted away his hands and shot an annoyed look at the blonde. The girl quickly picked herself up and brushed away the dust that had gotten on her uniform's skirt. Then, she put a hand on her hip and frowned at Luffy.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" Her voice was clear, firm, and most of all, to the point. Luffy sprang onto his feet and patted his jean pants before smiling apologetically at the girl.

"Sorry, I got the wrong person."

Luffy noticed that the people in the hall suddenly seemed to be focusing on him with an intense and wide eyed stare. He blinked a few times and his smile turned to a small frown. They were looking at him as if they had just experienced the unexpected. Like he had spoken something unspeakable or had dressed up in a costume of a muscle man with a head of a panda. But all he did was just tackle the wrong person to the ground. It wasn't that big of a deal. Luffy crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance. "What?"

Nami was the first to snap out of her stupefaction. "Wha-what are you? Even Sanji would make sure that the person he pounced on was the one he wanted to pounce on!" She exclaimed while pointing a shaky finger at the blonde haired man.

"Exactly." Sanji closed his eyes and nodded in agreement, completely unaware that Nami had not made a very flattering comment about him. Luffy scratched his head and stared at the two strange people. They sure were weird…especially the blonde haired person. His bangs covered his left eye as if they were pasted onto the left half of his face…

"Hey, you!" The woman's voice from the front desk broke the air and greeted the students in the hall with rage. People started scurrying back to where they were going, hoping that they would not incur the wrath of the pink haired woman. Luffy stood where he was, glancing over his shoulder to look at the woman who was yelling at them, or more specifically, at him. "Boy, get over here…!" She grabbed Luffy by his red vest and flung him towards the entrance of the academy. Then, she pointed a neatly gloved finger at Sanji. "No fighting in the hallways, remember? If you're going to fight, go to the arena."

The blonde's visible eye turned into a heart upon seeing the pink haired receptionist and he nodded eagerly, "Yes, Hina-chan~!"

"Good. Now go to class. All of you." Hina gazed at every student in the hall with a scolding look before turning on her heel and heading towards Luffy. The black haired boy sat on the black marble floor, watching as Nami picked up a lime green purse from the ground and slung it over her shoulder. Luffy sighed sadly. That must've been what he had seen. Not the green haired man, but a lime green purse. He watched as the orange haired girl glanced over her shoulder at him curiously before jogging off down the hall to catch up with her friends. He felt another strong gaze on him and he locked eyes with the blonde haired man, still standing in the hallway.

"You better not be getting any weird ideas about Nami-san, bastard." Sanji narrowed his eyes dangerously. Luffy nodded. He didn't really understand what the blonde guy meant, but he didn't think he was getting any weird ideas about the orange girl. Sanji sneered and stuffed his hands into his pockets before skulking down the hall. Suddenly, a hand yanked Luffy up onto his feet and he peered into the eyes of the pink haired woman who had thrown him across the room.

"Okay, boy." Hina dragged him towards the desk she had been sitting behind earlier and tossed him into a chair. Then, she crossed her arms over her chest and stared steadily at Luffy. "Tell me who you are and what you are doing here."

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy," The young man grinned confidently under Hina's steady gaze. "And I think I'm supposed to enroll into this school."

The woman raised an elegant eyebrow and frowned at the boy. "You think?"

"Well, it's my first time in this city… well, in any city actually…" Luffy scratched his head, "And I'm not sure if there are any more Academy of Arts here."

Hina sighed and moved to sit in her chair behind the desk. She rubbed her temples in annoyance and held out her free hand to Luffy, as if she were expecting the boy to hand her something. "There's only one Academy of Arts in Lohm City so give me your Letter of Recommendation."

Luffy cocked his head to the right. "Letter of Recommendation?"

Hina looked up through her fingers at the black haired boy. "If you don't have it then leave immediately."

The young man shoved a hand into his shoulder bag and shuffled around in it before pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. "Do you mean the letter saying that I could study here?"

The pink haired woman eyed the crumpled paper and frowned. What a careless person. To crumple such an important piece of paper…! She took the letter from Luffy's hand and smoothed it out, trying to keep her temper in check. "Yes, boy. This letter."

Luffy grinned and sat back in his seat. This woman had been making him kind of nervous. She seemed as if she were always annoyed at something. But, at least he had given her what she had wanted. He relaxed in his chair and glanced around his surroundings again. Left hallway. Right hallway. Colorful paintings hung on the walls, equally spaced away. The middle wall he was currently sitting in front of displayed a beautiful painting of an aerial view of the Academy of Arts. The skies were painted a blue that nearly matched the color of shallow ocean waters and the top of the academy was shining brightly against the sun peering over the clouds. Luffy smiled. It was a really nice painting. But who drew it?

"Okay, Monkey D. Luffy. I'll register you into our database and assign you a room." Hina started tapping her fingers on the screen of a computer built into the desk.

"Woah! Cool!" Luffy gasped and turned his attention onto the touch-screen computer. He watched Hina scroll down through a list of names with her thumb before stopping at his name. She tapped on his name twice and a window popped up. After a few moments of taps and beeps, Hina picked up a card from under the table and swiped it through the side of the desk. Luffy watched her go through this entire process with wide eyes, full of awe. Who knew that such technology was possible? The pink haired woman placed the card on the table and slid it towards the black haired boy.

"This is your house key and ID card. Don't lose it."

"Yes, ma'am!" Luffy grinned excitedly and took the card with both hands, studying it closely. He watched as his name and picture showed up on the front of the card and on the back, his room number appeared beside a strip of black. Maybe he would get to swipe the card through the door of his room…?

Hina watched as the black haired boy smiled happily, clutching the card in his hands like a new-found toy. She shook her head and smiled slightly. It was nice to see such a happy and childish person once in a while… A sound of paper whirring through a machine came from the desk and Hina quickly ripped out a piece of paper. "Okay, boy. This is your schedule sheet. You should choose which courses you wish to take and then fill out that sheet. Read it for further directions. You can find the offered courses in this booklet and if you have any questions, contact the office down the left hallway." She passed the paper and the course booklet to Luffy and gestured to both halls. "There are elevators in the hallways. Just keep walking down the hall and you'll eventually find one. You can use the elevators to get to all the floors in the academy."

Luffy looked up from his key card and nodded, taking the paper with which his blank schedule had been printed on. "Office on the left. Elevators in the halls. Got it!" He stuck the card in his pocket and slid his straw hat onto his head. Then, picking up his small shoulder bag, he stood up and waved at Hina before jogging eagerly towards the hallway that was closest to him. "Thanks, pink haired lady!"

"Have fun, boy." Hina let out a small chuckle before glancing down at the computer screen. Monkey D. Luffy, huh? Somehow, she had the feeling that things would start changing now that the black haired boy was here…

**.:.**

"This is so interesting!" Luffy laughed giddily and pressed the elevator button for the twelfth time. The students standing around him glanced at each other in bewilderment. What was with this guy? Had he never seen an elevator before…?

_Ting!_

Luffy jumped slightly at the sudden sound and he watched as the silver doors decorated with a translucent design opened down the split, presenting a small wooden room with a flat mirror, which was reflecting his surprised expression back at him. The students started filing in together, looking back at him, wondering whether or not he would be entering. Luffy smiled in return and hopped into the room large enough to fit thirty people together.

"So, where are we going?" He voiced simply, feeling slightly cramped inside the small room. A long nosed boy, squished beside him, blinked.

"You don't know…?"

"I just got here." Luffy smiled. "Should I go to class right now?"

The long nosed boy stared at the black haired boy in surprise. "You didn't read the course booklet yet?"

Luffy shook his head and started to flip open the booklet Hina had given him. The doors of the room opened and a few students left as another batch of students entered. The long nosed boy sighed and pointed at one of the paragraphs on the first page.

"Look, it says here that you should settle down in your room first. You know what your room number is?" The long nosed boy glanced skeptically at Luffy.

"Ehh…" Luffy fished out his key card and read out the number on the back. "35038…" The black haired boy blinked at the number. There sure were a lot of rooms in the building… Luffy glanced back to the long nosed boy and waved a hand at him since the long nosed boy looked frozen still. "Hello…?"

Luffy watched in confusion as a grin started to spread across the long nosed boy's face. Suddenly, the boy stuck a hand out to Luffy. "I'm Usopp! Nice to meet you, room mate!"

The black haired boy was stunned for a moment. But he quickly recovered and laughed merrily, taking his room mate by the hand. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy! Nice to meet you, Usopp!" They laughed together and heard the elevator _ting!_ excitedly in their ears. They were on the 35th floor.

The two new friends stepped out and walked down the hallway. Usopp chuckled and swiped his nose a few times. "But really, what a coincidence. That the two of us would be room mates. I haven't had a room mate since Sanji had decided to move out. That was probably about two years ago."

"Sanji?" Luffy turned to face his room mate. Usopp nodded.

"Aa. I think he lives on the 65th floor right now. You know him?"

"He's got blonde hair that covers his left eye, right?" Luffy smiled. "Yeah, I bumped into him just a while ago. I tackled a girl named Nami and he started to look really angry."

Usopp stopped in his tracks and his skin paled visibly.

"Usopp?" Luffy paused and turned to look at the long nosed boy skeptically.

"Y-you…_tackled_…Nami?"

"Mm." Luffy nodded to verify Usopp's claim.

"A-and…you did that…in front of…_Sanji_?"

"Mm." Luffy nodded again. Usopp grabbed his room mate by the shoulders and shook the boy repeatedly.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?"

"Wah! Usopp! Stop shaking me!" Luffy pried the hands off of his shoulders and tried to still his spinning vision. When his eyes finally stopped going around and around in his eye sockets, the black haired boy found Usopp staring at him nervously.

"This is bad, Luffy. _Bad_. Sanji's been chasing after Nami ever since she enrolled. He's beaten up people who tried to make moves on her, too. A-and…you just…tackled her! To the ground!" Usopp cringed and covered his face with his hands in shame. "You animal!"

Luffy frowned in annoyance. He remembered the kick that had sent him into the wall. Sanji must've done it. But... he didn't mean to jump on Nami. He was looking for that green haired man who had kissed him! "Hold on a second," Luffy put both hands on his hips and furrowed his eyebrows. "I just mistook her as another person. Why does Sanji have to beat me up?"

Usopp sighed and patted his room mate's shoulder comfortingly. "Luffy, when it comes to love, some people do the most absurd things. It's illogical. Anyway, our room's coming up. I'll help you fight against Sanji, okay? But first, we have to be behind closed and private doors. We don't want anyone to listen in on us and tell Sanji about me helping you…"

"But…" Luffy scratched his head. "Aren't you already saying that you'll help me? Anyone can listen in."

"SHHH!" Usopp glanced from left to right nervously and shuffled down the hall, pressed tightly against the wall. "Do you want to get me in trouble, too?"

Luffy blinked at the long nosed boy and then chortled, holding a hand over his stomach. "Usopp! You're a really funny person…!"

"Shut up, Luffy…" Usopp grumbled half-heartedly and then smiled. It was nice to have such a bright friend… There weren't many people that were like Luffy in the academy. It was all academic this, competition that. Always the best, the best, the best. He was in such a serious and stifling school. It was refreshing to have such an energetic and carefree person as a room mate. They stopped in front of a wooden colored door with the brass numbers '35038' hanging on the side of the wall and Usopp whipped out his card, ready to swipe it through the door handle. But Luffy quickly stopped him and pouted.

"Let me open the door. Please?"

Usopp sighed and stepped back. "Hai, hai." He grinned at the enthusiasm his new room mate was expressing and pointed at the handle. "Go ahead. Knock yourself out."

Luffy let out a whoop of glee and swiped his card through the handle of the door. A whirring noise came from inside and a small _beep!_ sounded, causing a flashing green light to light up on the key card. "Oh…! Su-ge…!" Luffy twisted the handle and pushed the door in. He was greeted with a cozy room painted with white walls. There was at least two of everything. Two beds, two desks, and two closets. There was only one bathroom though. One side of the room was untouched. There were no sheets or books near it. On the other side, a few paintings lay against the wall and small glass containers were set along one of the desks. A crumpled light blue sheet lay on Usopp's bed. It wasn't tidy but it was cleaner and neater than anything else he had seen back at home… Luffy entered and grinned at everything.

"This is so cool!" The black haired boy laughed and jumped onto the untouched bed, spreading himself out on his stomach. Usopp smiled and sat down on his bed, looking across the room at Luffy.

"We'll need to get you some sheets. All you have is a mattress right now." Usopp pointed to the closet next to the desk. "And you should have two sets of uniforms in there by the time you finalize your course schedule."

Luffy nodded and flung his shoulder bag carelessly onto the floor. Then, he turned his attention to the paintings lying against the side of the wall. Somehow, that style looked familiar… He scratched his head and turned to eye his room mate curiously. "Did you draw an aerial view of the Academy of Arts…?"

Usopp blinked in surprise before grinning proudly. "Yep! I drew that! People call me Usopp the Great Painter of All Time!"

"Woah…!" Luffy's eyes bugged out and he stared at his room mate in awe. "That's amazing, Usopp! Can I see your other paintings?"

"Sure thing…!"

Luffy pumped both fists into the air in joy and promptly leapt off of his bed to study the paintings. There was another large painting of a complicated looking forest with rays of light beaming through the leaves. "You're really good, Usopp. I can't draw like you do."

"So what do you do well, then?" Usopp asked curiously and handed the black haired boy another painting. Luffy frowned for a moment, looking as if deep in thought, while studying the painting. Then, he put the canvas down and grinned.

"I can beat people up!"

The long nosed boy stiffened and watched in horror as his room mate beamed at him. "Oi, oi. Nobody's _that _confident…"

Luffy merely smiled and studied the glass tanks on the long nosed boy's desk. Usopp sighed and shook his head. Apparently, someone _was_ that confident… Speaking of fighting… weren't they going to discuss how to take on Sanji? Right. Usopp closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Anyway, regardless of the fact that you can fight, you don't want to go up against Sanji. I have the perfect plan for you—"

"Eh? Isn't this an Atlas?" Usopp heard his energetic room mate exclaim and he turned to watch the boy point at one of the glass tanks enthusiastically.

"Oi! Are you even listening to me?" Usopp growled and walked towards Luffy to peer into the glass tank. "Oh, yeah. That's an Atlas." Usopp smiled at the kabuto beetle gnawing away at the little cup of jam he had given it in the morning. Luffy turned to Usopp with shining eyes.

"Y-you…you have…an Atlas…!"

Usopp grinned proudly. "That's not all. Look here…!" The boy pointed to the other tanks lying side to side along the desk. "I have a Hercules, too."

"Woah! Usopp, you're so cool!" Luffy cried, pressing his face against the tank holding the large horned beetle. The black haired boy jumped from tank to tank, observing each of the beetles. "How long have you had them so far…?"

"I just got it recently." Usopp pointed at two tanks with two separate tarantulas. "And I've had these for five years already."

"Wow, so long?" Luffy stuck a finger into the tank and tickled the fuzzy tarantula. His mouth formed an 'o' and his eyes turned to his dark skinned room mate. "It's really hairy."

Usopp scratched at the tip of his nose and chuckled. "Heh, that reminds me of when Sanji used to live here. Although he moved out almost immediately. He said that my tarantulas were really gross and that he couldn't sleep in a room with a tarantula in it…" The long nosed boy paused and an idea dawned upon him. "Wait, that's it! A perfect plan to battle Sanji! And if that doesn't work then…" The long nosed boy pulled Luffy over and started whispering into Luffy's ear.

The black haired boy blinked and shot a skeptic look at his new friend. "Are you sure that'll work?"

"I'm positive! One hundred percent!" Usopp gave his room mate a thumbs up sign. "You can pull it off, don't worry!"

Luffy shrugged and glanced at the insects inside the glass containers. "If you say so…"

**.:.**


	2. Chapter 2

**.:.**

(Listening to Shissou from Ouran Host Club ending and Mou Kokoro Yuretari Shinaide)

"Whew…" Usopp wiped at his forehead. "You got the plan down, right?"

"Mm!" Luffy nodded enthusiastically.

His long nosed room mate sighed and stared at the black haired boy through half slit eyes. "How did you manage to pounce on Nami, anyway? She's got orange hair for kami's sake. You don't see orange haired people often, you know?"

Luffy scratched at his nose nonchalantly. "She was wearing a green purse. I was looking for someone with green hair." Now that he thought about, would he ever see that guy again? His first kiss had been taken away by the green haired man and that meant that the green haired guy was important…! Hopefully, he could see him again…

Usopp blinked in astonishment. "Eh? Zoro? You were going to jump on Roronoa Zoro…?"

"AH?" Luffy stood up straight and gave Usopp his full attention. "You know the green haired guy?"

"He's goes to this school and there's no one else in the city who has green hair…" Usopp smiled nervously and took Luffy by the shoulders. The corners of his mouth twitched rapidly and his voice rose into a squeak as he spoke, "But…don't tell me that you were seriously going to tackle _**Zoro**_ down to the ground…?"

"I was." Luffy nodded pointedly.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Usopp started shaking the black haired boy vigorously for the second time in the day. "What would make you so crazy that you would try to jump that guy?"

"Waaaah! Usopp! Everything's spinning!" Luffy pushed the long nosed boy away from him and wobbled around the room dizzily for a few seconds. Then, the boy stared at Usopp in annoyance. "He kissed me and then he ran away. So I ran after him."

"Whaaaa….?" Usopp's jaw dropped to the ground as he pictured the muscular green haired man kissing the lanky black haired boy. Yes, he could see it all in his mind's eye now… Zoro was taking Luffy forcefully by the shoulders, crushing their bodies against each other so that not even the sun's rays could pass through them. A light blush stained Luffy's cheeks. Both of them were starting to close their eyes slowly. Slowly. Lips inching closer and closer. Ever closer… Usopp turned away and stared out the window in horror, his facial color quickly changing from light brown into a pale blue. "I always had a feeling that Zoro swung that way…"

Luffy frowned as his room mate mumbled to himself. "What are you talking about, Usopp?"

"Nothing, you poor poor boy. Nothing." The dark skinned boy sighed sadly and carefully led Luffy gently out the room, as if the black haired boy had been taken advantage of. "It's around one already. Let's just get some lunch and look through the course booklet to see which courses you would like to take…"

Luffy smiled and started bouncing out the door, while excitedly pulling out his key card. "Okay! Let's go get lunch!" As they exited the room, Usopp watched as Luffy turned to swipe his key card through the door again.

"What are you doing…?"

"I'm locking the door, of course. Stupid Usopp." The black haired boy smiled and started to swipe the card through the door handle.

"Oi, oi. Hold on." Usopp stopped his room mate and pointed at the door. "The card is for opening. The door will lock automatically. You don't have to lock it."

"Eh? Really?" Luffy blinked and pushed down on the handle. The door didn't budge. The black haired boy glanced at Usopp in amazement. "Woah…! It locked all by itself!"

"Yep, it has an automatic system. But just in case, on the inside of the door, we have a double lock."

"Ohhh…!"

The dark haired boy smiled at his room mate's look of awe and let out a small laugh. Then, he patted Luffy on the shoulder. "Okay, now let's get some lunch. The cafeteria is on the fifth floor." Usopp strolled towards an elevator and tapped at the down button. Luffy followed after and tapped at the button curiously.

_Ting!_

Luffy jumped again at the sound and looked up as the doors split open, revealing the wooden room and flat mirror inside.

"Let's go!" Usopp walked into the slightly full elevator and Luffy hopped in behind. The long nosed boy pointed at a panel on the side of the wall. "You wanna try it? Just press the 5 button."

"This one?" Luffy poked at the panel and watched as the 5 button lit up in a blue glow. "Woah…" Usopp smiled again, entertained by the thought of someone knowing practically nothing about technology. Just where did Luffy come from…?

Soon, students came in and out of the elevator, all on their own busy schedules. Some worried about their tests coming up. Others were excited about the next course they were heading to. Luffy, on the other hand, was paying attention to the floating feeling in his stomach as the elevator went down, past floor after floor after floor. He giggled and put a hand on his stomach. What an exciting feeling. It almost felt like the time when Zoro had kissed him!

_Ting!_

"Oi, Luffy. It's the fifth floor. Come on!" Usopp left the elevator, along with Luffy and a whole group of students wearing uniforms. A waft of crispy chicken, tomato sauce, and grease greeted Luffy's nostrils and the boy was not ashamed to show everyone how much he enjoyed food by taking in a deep breath of the smells emitted from the food that lay before him in bountiful amounts.

"Smells good!" The boy sniffed happily and started running towards one of the bars where students were serving food to other students.

"O-oi! Luffy! Wait a sec—" Usopp shouted out but then stopped as he was given disapproving looks from the people sitting down at tables. The long nosed boy bowed his head apologetically and then sighed before rushing after his black haired friend.

Luffy plucked a tray from a table and pushed his way into the middle of a line, grabbing at one of the steaks lying invitingly on a plate. Suddenly, a knife came down and embedded itself into the table, nearly maiming Luffy's index finger. "Eee!" The black haired boy quickly withdrew his hand and looked up to see Sanji glaring down at him.

"What do you think you're doing, moron…?" The blonde growled ferociously.

"Eh…getting meat…?" Luffy gulped and smiled sheepishly.

"And you were going to steal it off of _Nami's_ plate…?"

Luffy glanced down at the plate of steak and then looked back up at Sanji. "Nami's…? But her name isn't on it."

The black haired boy watched as one of Sanji's curled eyebrow's twitched in annoyance. "Why…you…first you take advantage of a delicate woman, and then…you try to steal the food I prepare for her…?"

"Ah, sorry about that." Luffy nodded and scratched his head sheepishly. "I thought that the meat was for anyone."

A few students gasped and turned their heads to look at the newcomer wearing tattered blue jeans, a red vest, and a dusty straw hat. Who was that person…? To speak so normally in front of Sanji…?

"Oi, get moving." An irritated voice spoke up from the middle of the line. "I'm hungry."

"What was that?" Sanji turned his head towards the voice. Luffy peered around the blonde haired man and noticed a tall man standing in the line, balancing a tray in one hand while rubbing his short green hair agitatedly.

"Zoro!" Luffy gasped and pushed over Sanji to get to the green haired man.

"Oi! You bastard!" Sanji yelled out as the black haired boy climbed over him and pushed his face into the ground.

Zoro blinked as he heard his name and he raised an eyebrow at the black haired boy standing in front of him, peering up at him in awe. Who was this kid? And why was he wearing a straw hat with no school uniform…?

"I finally found you!" Luffy smiled, feeling the floating feeling from the elevator in his stomach again as he watched the man before him. The mysterious warmness from after their kiss was wrapping itself around his body and he felt an overwhelming urge to be close to this person. He hugged the green haired man, pressing his cheek to the man's chest contently. Aah, yes. This was a good mysterious feeling... Zoro froze and a shocked look was implanted on his face. What the hell?

The constant buzzing in the cafeteria—that not even an earthquake or teacher could stop—suddenly disappeared. All was silent. And all eyes were on the black haired boy circling his arms around the infamous green haired bushido of their school. It was as if time had stopped for a few seconds and Luffy took that moment to grin up at Zoro who merely stared down at him with astonishment. And then, everything came crashing down. Time…space…and everything else that involved two people hugging each other. Zoro forcefully pushed the boy away and an angry tick grew on his head.

"Wh-who the hell are _you_?" The green haired man shouted, flailing his tray at the lanky boy who had just decided to latch himself onto him. Sanji blinked and then covered his mouth, trying to stop his laughter.

"That…was by far the funniest thing I have ever seen!" The blonde spluttered and pounded the floor with the flat of his palm. He pointed a finger at Zoro and chortled. "Marimo just got hugged by some stranger…!" And Sanji burst out into more laughter.

"Shut up, you bastard…!" Zoro felt his skin grow hot with embarrassment.

"Oh, amazing, Zoro! You look like a Christmas tree." Luffy voiced, pointing at Zoro's red face and green hair. The tall man clenched his fists and ground his teeth. He _really_ wanted to strangle that boy now…

"You!" Zoro pointed a finger at Luffy. "Don't talk. And you," He pointed to Sanji, who was starting to tear up in laughter, "Don't laugh, dammit!"

Luffy pouted sadly. When Zoro had yelled out wondering who he was, it felt as though he had just been drenched by cold water. He didn't understand why Zoro was acting as if he didn't know him. Didn't they kiss on the street? And that meant that Zoro had made a special promise with him. That Zoro wanted to be with him, right? "Naa, Zoro?"

"What is it, you moron?" The green haired man seethed, causing the students in the room to take a step back or scoot away from the man. He stared at the boy before him angrily, wondering who gave the boy the right to call him by his first name…!

"Didn't you promise me that you wanted to be with me for a long long time? And that you belong to me?" Luffy tilted his head to the right, frowning slightly.

Zoro's eyes widened into sauce pans along with all the eyes of anyone present in the room. "WHAT? When have I ever promised that to anyone?"

Sanji's laughter escalated in the background and Luffy's frown grew even deeper as he stared at the green haired man standing before him. "You kissed me. Doesn't that mean that you want to be with me?"

And once again, everything in the cafeteria stopped. Even the whirring of the refrigerators and the blinking fluorescent lights in the ceiling. Sanji's laughter caught in his throat and he stared from Luffy to Zoro with wide eyes.

Zoro stared at Luffy skeptically. "Kissed you? I don't remember kissing anyone in my entire life…"

Luffy shook his head. "You did! I'll prove it to you. Look!" The black haired boy flipped his upper lip so that Zoro could see his gums. "Shee? Fwhen we kished, yew mwaide mwee bleed."

"Ah?" The green haired man raised an eyebrow and stared at the black haired boy in confusion. Sanji stood up and walked towards the green haired man. The blonde slung a casual arm over Zoro's shoulder and grinned cheekily.

"I always knew you swung that way." Sanji pointed at Luffy and smirked. "Not bad, too. If he were a girl, I'd kiss him myself!"

Zoro shoved away the blonde's arm in disgust and scowled angrily. "You're an even bigger idiot than I thought." Then, he turned to face Luffy. "I think you got the wrong person, kid. I have never kissed anyone before."

"Eh…?" Luffy's eyes dropped to the ground and he pouted. "No way! Usopp said that you were the only person in this city who had green hair…!"

"Usopp?" Sanji blinked and glanced over at the dark skinned boy who jumped away from sight when he found him. "That creepy kid with a long nose and weird hair? How can you believe what he says? He's a renowned liar. Maybe you met some other green haired guy who happened to come into the city today…"

Luffy fumed and frowned at the blonde haired man, standing coolly in front of him, daring to insult his new room mate. "Usopp isn't creepy or weird! He's my friend! And I'm sure that Zoro was the one who kissed me!"

Zoro raised an eyebrow at the black haired boy. What an annoying person. Couldn't he just let it go now? He already told the boy that he had never kissed anyone! Besides…if he really _had_ to kiss someone, it definitely wouldn't be an annoying kid like Luffy.

Sanji's mouth twitched at the corners and he smirked. "Oh? What are you planning to do? Fight for your friend's honor or something?"

"Hell yeah!" Luffy growled and put up his fists. The students watched in surprise as the black haired boy stepped into a stance they had never seen before. Zoro studied the boy in interest as Luffy frowned and stared steadily at Sanji. It was hard to tell if he would be going into an offensive or defensive position. The green haired man smirked. The kid was pretty impressive…

Sanji sneered and tapped the toes of his left shoe on the tiles of the kitchen, readying his legs for battle. "You just come and try."

Suddenly, a fist pounded into both of their heads, causing the tight tension in the air to disperse. Luffy held his head in pain and looked up to see the orange haired girl he had mistaken as Zoro, glaring down at him. Sanji rubbed his head and smiled apologetically as a blue haired girl frowned at him in disapproval.

"What's going on here? This is the cafeteria!" Nami shouted at them both. "Sanji-kun, you know better than to pick a fight in here. And you, new boy, learn the rules of this school. You can't just cross them as you like!" The orange haired girl huffed and then picked up a tray, signaling the return of normality to the cafeteria. The constant chatter in the background regained its earlier buzz-like volume and slowly the attention on Luffy and Sanji died away.

The blonde haired man stood up and patted his uniform of any dust. Then, he eyed the black haired boy sitting on the ground. "This isn't over yet. Meet me in the arena tonight. Eight o' clock." Sanji straightened his collar and then left, following after Nami.

Zoro stared at the black haired boy for a moment before shrugging and returning to the lunch line. It had nothing to do with him after all. The kid, although slightly impressive in fighting style, was just too annoying to deal with. How could anyone stand being around someone so carefree and unashamed of the things he said or did…? The green haired man shook his head in irritation and brought a few pieces of nigiri onto his plate.

Usopp rushed over to his room mate and helped the boy up on his feet. "O-oi…! Luffy? Are you all right?"

The black haired boy nodded and patted off the dust from the bottom of his pants. "Aa, I'm fine. I just gotta beat him up at eight tonight, right?"

"Hold on a second…!" Usopp held his palms out in a stop sign. "You're not seriously…going to fight Sanji, right…?"

Luffy frowned and narrowed his eyes. "Why not? I don't like him."

"That's not the point! You got into this fight because of me, right?" Usopp copied his friend's frown and crossed his arms over his chest.

Luffy shrugged carelessly. "Not really. I just wanted to beat him up because he pissed me off."

Usopp slapped Luffy's chest with the back of his hand. "Oi, oi. That's not a good way to go about things..."

The black haired boy scowled and turned to the long nosed boy. "Then what the heck am I supposed to do?" Luffy pointed a finger at the blonde, flirting with one of the girl's in the lunch line. "I don't like him!"

"Remember the plan…" Usopp waved his hands in front of Luffy's face. "We made a plan for this. Remember…?"

"But…!" Luffy pouted and Usopp cut his friend off with a hand.

"Remember the plan and proceed with the plan…just as we practiced. Got it, Luffy?"

The black haired boy sighed and trudged off to the lunch line. "Oh, fine…"

**.:.**

Nami poked at her food with her fork and ignored the praise that was being spilled over her by Sanji. She decided to study the new boy who had enrolled into the academy. The orange haired girl frowned in disgust as Luffy practically wolfed down the food in front of him, occasionally spitting bits of food at the long nosed boy named Usopp. From time to time, Usopp had to slap Luffy's hand away as the black haired boy tried to steal a bit of meat off of his plate. Nami giggled slightly and then stifled it, hoping that she hadn't gained the attention of Sanji and Vivi, who always sat with her during lunch. But, of course, they noticed.

"Nami-san?" The blue haired girl named Vivi blinked and followed her friend's gaze to the two rowdy boys, sitting a few tables away. Then, a small smile passed over her lips. "The new student is quite interesting, isn't he?"

Nami quickly turned away and stared out the window of the cafeteria, trying to look indifferent. "Not really…"

Vivi giggled and glanced at Sanji, who was glaring at Luffy angrily. How dare he steal away Nami-san's attention? Vivi smiled and sipped at her glass of water, observing the carefree black haired boy.

**.:.**

"Okay, Luffy. I'll ask you again. Are you interested in architecture? Or sketching?" Usopp looked up from the course booklet to stare at Luffy, who was shoving more food into his mouth than he could chew. The long nosed boy continued, hoping that his friend was listening. "Or maybe ceramics? Cooking? ...Music?"

"This is really delicious, Usopp! You should try some!" The black haired boy pointed at a large piece of steak on one of the plates on their lunch table.

Usopp groaned and started scribbling into the blanks on Luffy's schedule. "I'll just put you under Ethics and Morality 101…" The long nosed boy peered up from his writing and stared at Luffy. "No, scratch that. I'll put you under Eating Etiquette…"

"Eating?" Luffy paused in his splurge of food and his eyes grew round in wonder. "They have a course on eating here?"

"Oh, so you _were_ listening…" Usopp stared at his room mate dully and pointed at the five empty spaces in his schedule. "Okay, now that I have your full attention, what courses do you want to choose?"

Luffy went back to chowing on the food before him. An angry tick bulged on Usopp's head and he bashed the black haired boy with the course booklet, sending bits of food out of Luffy's mouth and onto a group of students sitting in the table next to them.

"Ow!" Luffy whined rubbing his cheek. "What was _that_ for?"

"Pay attention when someone's speaking to you!" Usopp shouted pointing at the schedule. "Do you want to study in this school or what?"

"Oi! You bastards, what the hell do you think you're doing?" The students sitting beside Usopp and Luffy shouted angrily, wiping away the shower of food Luffy had given them while brandishing knives and forks dangerously.

"Damn! Now they're getting all angry." Usopp quickly grabbed a knife and balanced a pea on the end. "Take this!" He aimed the pea at one of the angry students and fired, causing the pea to soar accurately into the student's mouth.

"Woah! You have really good aim, Usopp!" Luffy exclaimed and picked up his own knife, firing a steak at another student. Unfortunately, he missed by a foot and the steak flew to the other side of the room, splattering on the window, causing the steak sauce to fly onto a certain green haired man's table, sushi, and hair… Luffy gulped nervously. "Ah…"

Zoro clenched his fists around his chopsticks and an extremely bad aura seemed to wrap itself around him. "Who just did that…?"

Students quickly scooted out of their chairs and raced towards the elevators. No one wanted to be around when Zoro was angry…! The green haired man stood up and held the chopsticks in his hand menacingly. Luffy smiled sheepishly and scratched his cheek. "Eh…sorry, Zoro. It was an accident! I swear!"

"Fire!" Usopp yelled bravely and shot another pea through the air. And then that did it. Zoro chased after Luffy and Usopp with his chopsticks, trying to stab the black haired boy and smack the long nosed boy. Usopp quickly ducked around the table, leaving Luffy to distract Zoro. "Aaaaah!" The long nosed boy shot peas into the air, firing rapidly at the green haired man chasing Luffy. But Zoro merely deflected the peas with his chopsticks, causing them to fly off in every direction.

"Food fight!" A student cried from the top of a table and ducked as another student stood up to throw a batch of mashed potato at them. Nami screamed as some gravy splashed her way. Sanji blocked the gravy sauce from hitting the orange haired girl with his own back and glanced towards Vivi, who was staring off in surprise as ketchup dripped off her bangs.

"You idiots…!" Sanji yelled angrily and kicked a hotdog flying his way back towards the melee in the middle of the cafeteria. "How dare you dirty Vivi-chan and waste food like this?" The blonde shouted out a battle cry and started picking up food off of the ground to shove into the mouths of students who were throwing around food.

"Waaah! Zoro's scary!" Luffy laughed and jumped over a table, dodging the chopsticks threatening to stab him. Zoro grit his teeth in annoyance, trying his best to injure the boy as badly as possible with the chopsticks. But somehow, the boy always managed to get away at the last second.

"Stay still, dammit!"

"No way!" Luffy stuck his tongue out at the green haired man and leapt into the air to catch a hamburger in his mouth. He blinked and took a bite out of it. "Oh, Zoro. This is pretty good!" He pointed at the hamburger in his hands.

"You bastard…making fun of me, eh?" Zoro's eyebrow twitched in frustration. The kid had enough time to dodge his attacks and eat at the same time? The nerve…! Suddenly, he felt something splat onto the back of his head. The green haired man stopped in his tracks and then turned around to face the person who had thrown the ball of food. Luffy peered around Zoro and frowned as Sanji glared at the both of them.

"Did you just throw that at me?" Zoro sneered, holding the chopsticks in front of him threateningly.

"What do you think?" Sanji raised an eyebrow and scooped up another ball of food from the ground. Luffy blinked and watched as the two faced off. It didn't seem like they were seriously angry at each other… Maybe they just liked fighting each other?

Sanji lifted his left leg up like a baseball pitcher and drew his right arm back. Then, with a mighty swing, the ball of food hurtled through the air towards Zoro. The green haired man readied the chopsticks in front of him and closed his eyes. Then, with a quick movement of his arms and legs, Zoro sliced the ball of food cleanly in half, managing to dodge the other pieces of food that was flying through the air.

"Su-ge…!" Luffy cried, watching the two face off. Just from feeling the aura of the two men, Luffy could tell that they were both pretty good at fighting. He grabbed the two halves of the ball of food and stuffed it into his mouth. "Mm, this is pretty good, too!"

Sanji and Zoro paused in their fight and glanced at the black haired boy in shock. He didn't just willingly eat that, did he? Didn't many people step in it already? How could he eat something like that?

"Ugh…" Zoro dropped his defense and stared at Luffy in disgust as the boy dipped a finger into a multi-colored sauce on the ground and tasted it. Sanji watched in bewilderment as Luffy ate from the floor.

Nami gaped at all of the students in horror as the cafeteria turned messier and messier as the seconds ticked by. She glanced at Vivi, who was observing the students throw food around. Nami watched in astonishment as her blue haired friend picked up a piece of nacho and then threw it experimentally into the crowd. No one seemed to notice the addition of food being thrown in. Vivi giggled to herself and brushed away the ketchup dripping from her bangs.

"Vivi…?" The orange haired girl blinked slowly and watched as her friend's giggles turned into peals of laughter. Nami smiled and then started to laugh slightly. She picked up a bowl of salad and chucked it into the food fight, watching as the salad scattered over the heads of students. The two girls laughed together, enjoying the first food fight they had ever experienced. Soon, giggles and chuckles erupted among the students and Luffy's laughter seemed to echo above all the others.

But all too soon, the laughter and chaos ended. The elevator doors opened and a booming voice rang across the room, causing all of the students to stop in their combat.

"ATTENTION!" An old looking woman walked in wearing tight pants and high shoes. She lifted the sunglasses from her eyes and placed them on the top of her stringy gray hair. "Who's the one responsible for this mess?" She shouted in a sharp tone, scaring all of the students. Even Zoro jumped slightly. Half of the students quickly pointed towards Luffy and Usopp and the other half quickly pointed their fingers at Zoro and Sanji. The old woman raised an eyebrow and stared at the four boys standing amidst all the fingers. "Okay, you four. Come with me. The rest of you, clean up this mess by the time I get back!"

"What?" Sanji exclaimed. "I didn't do anything…! Why do I need to go?"

A few students narrowed their eyes at him. "You took food from the floor and stuffed it in our mouths!" The blonde haired man grumbled to himself and glared back at the students.

"Che." Zoro crossed his arms over his chest and walked into the elevator reluctantly, throwing Luffy an irritated stare. "He started it."

Luffy beamed at the green haired man who was staring irritably at him. "It was fun, though. Wasn't it, Usopp?"

"…admit...nothing…" Usopp shuddered and stood in the corner of the elevator as far from the old woman as possible. Luffy chuckled and licked off the bits of food on his hands before leaning towards Zoro to clean off the food stuck to the back of his head. The green haired man scowled and pushed the boy's hands away, trying to stay away from the annoying person. Luffy pouted. Zoro still didn't like him… but why did the man kiss him if he didn't like him? The boy shrugged off the thought, starting to feel confused, and opted to glance at the old woman who had stopped the food fight. She was really wrinkly, yet she looked very healthy and full of life.

The woman looked down at the black haired boy. Strange…she had never seen him before. He was a new one. The old woman smirked and flipped her sunglasses back over her eyes, watching as the boy blinked curiously at her.

_Ting!_

Luffy searched the small room for the panel of numbers and he found the button with a 1 on it, flashing in blue light. The elevator doors opened, revealing the entrance to what looked like the school staff's workplace.

"Into my office, the four of you." The woman pointed towards one of doors inside the room. Luffy followed behind the three others, staring at everything in wonder. There were a few people sitting in rooms with windows, scribbling away at pieces of paper and occasionally, Luffy heard the ringing of phones through the walls. The black haired boy bumped into Sanji's back and earned a glare from the blonde. He stopped abruptly and ignored the glare, deciding that the door of the office was more interesting. A plaque on the door read: 'Dr. Kureha' and Luffy turned to stare at the old woman.

"Why do you have a Dr. in your name?" The black haired boy turned to ask Dr. Kureha curiously. Usopp tugged at Luffy's red vest.

"Be quiet! She's our school principal, you know? Just do what she tells you to do and she'll spare you."

The old woman laughed heartily, causing Usopp to screech and hide behind Zoro. Dr. Kureha lifted her sunglasses slightly and grinned down at Luffy. "I used to be a doctor here. That's all." And then, she let the glasses fall back over her eyes. "Okay boys, inside." She twisted open the handle of the door, inviting the four boys in.

After stepping inside, Dr. Kureha sat down in a dark colored armchair and sighed, staring at the four boys. "You _do_ understand why I've asked you four to come here, right?"

Luffy shook his head while the other three nodded. They glanced at Luffy pointedly which caused Luffy to nod along with them.

"Good. So you all understand that you will be punished for your actions."

"Eh?" The black haired boy blinked and his eyes widened. "Why do we need to be punished?"

"Causing such an uproar in school and creating a tremendous mess in the cafeteria. Don't you think that deserves punishment?" Dr. Kureha raised one of her eyebrows. Luffy pouted rebelliously and crossed his arms over his chest, turning his head to face the walls. "Oi…" The principal smiled and threw a heavy punch at the black haired boy's cheek, sending him flying. "Pay attention when your elders are speaking to you!"

Luffy flew through the air and crashed into the wall behind him. Usopp winced and Sanji whistled in praise, glancing over his shoulder at the black haired boy.

"Idiot." Zoro sighed and shook his head dejectedly. Some people were just so stupid…

Dr. Kureha smirked and pointed at Luffy, who was lying on his back lifelessly, sporting a large bruise on his head. "You're one of those boys who just won't listen unless they're taught a lesson, eh? All right, I had been considering letting you off the hook. Since you're new and all. But, I've changed my mind! You, and you three," She turned to smile at them, showing her gums. They froze on their feet, not daring to look away from the old woman. "Chores for one whole month!"

Sanji's jaw dropped to the floor while Usopp sighed in relief. Zoro nodded in understanding. "Okay, so we can go now?"

Dr. Kureha grinned. "Sure thing, boy. You are all dismissed."

Zoro gave the principal a short, respectful nod and then left the room with Sanji following miserably behind. Usopp pulled Luffy to his feet and quickly scurried out the door before Dr. Kureha changed her mind. The four boys silently made their way to the elevator and Zoro calmly pressed the up button. Surprisingly enough, today had been quite tiring. He was longing to take a shower and then bury himself into his mattress to snore the rest of the afternoon away.

"Aa…" Sanji gripped at his hair in frustration. "Chores for one whole month with Marimo and Nose boy…! Could this day get any worse?"

Usopp smiled. "I'd say we were lucky though. It's just chores and not expulsion or something like that."

The blonde haired man shot a fierce look towards the long nosed boy. "What do you mean _just_ chores…? Do you know what 'chores' mean?"

"Eh…" Usopp took a step back nervously with Luffy draped around him. "Cooking…cleaning…organizing…?"

"EXACTLY!" Sanji exclaimed, surprising the long nosed boy so much that he let go of Luffy's unconscious body in order to protect himself against the blonde's piercing glares.

"Oi, oi!" Zoro grabbed Luffy's shoulders before the boy fell onto the floor at a bad angle and broke an arm or leg. Something jolted in his mind and he blinked at the familiarity of the situation. The green haired man glanced down at the unconscious boy in his hands warily. Why did it feel as if he had held Luffy like this before…?

Sanji pointed at Zoro with an offending finger. "We have to cook with _this_ guy, take out the trash with _this_ guy, clean up after the other people in the cafeteria with _this_ guy, and organize all of the teachers' books when they ask us to! With this guy!"

The green haired man looked up from the boy in his hands and stared pointedly at the blonde. "Oi."

"O-oh…I see…th-that's too b-bad…" Usopp whimpered and pressed himself against the wall as tightly as possible, trying desperately to escape the blonde's ferocious gaze.

_Ting!_

The elevator doors opened and Luffy twitched at the sound. Zoro let go of him and frowned. No, he didn't have any recollections on ever meeting this boy. It was probably only his imagination playing tricks on him.

"Naa?" Luffy's eyes fluttered open and he watched as Zoro walked into the elevator. "Oh! I got knocked out?" The black haired boy rubbed at his throbbing head and cheek. "That old lady sure hits hard."

"You guys coming in or what?" The green haired man spoke up, standing casually inside the elevator.

"Che, stupid marimo…" Sanji shoved his hands into his pockets and walked through the doors heavily. Usopp and Luffy followed in quickly and pushed at the buttons. Number 35 and number 65 lit up in blue and Luffy stared at the two floors curiously.

"Sanji and Zoro live on the same floor?" He glanced at the two men, who stared back at him with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah."

"But we don't live in the same room."

"Ah? So do you guys have room mates?" Luffy asked pointing at the both of them.

"No." Sanji and Zoro spoke simultaneously and then threw irritated looks at each other. Luffy chuckled.

"You two should move in together then! Because you're missing out on something cool if you don't have a room mate."

"WHAT?" Zoro's eyes widened in horror at the thought of sharing a room with the blonde.

"You actually suggested for me to go live with that moron?" Sanji raised both eyebrows, although no one could actually see the other eyebrow raise. "You've gotta be kidding me…"

"Who's the moron, bastard?" The green haired man turned to the blonde angrily. Luffy laughed at the two and felt the elevator slow to a stop.

_Ting!_

"Okay, we're getting off here. Come on, Luffy. Stop talking to the spooky upper classmen… Let's go." Usopp started to push the black haired boy towards the exit.

"See you, Zoro! Sanji!" Luffy grinned and waved at the two boys in the elevator as he pushed past them.

"Don't forget about our fight tonight…!" Sanji called to him coolly, watching as the boy smiled and nodded in response.

At that moment, Luffy's shoulder accidentally bumped into Zoro's arm, just seconds before leaving the elevator. Although Luffy didn't know it himself, but that small bump started to trigger an insignificant memory in Zoro's brain.

As the doors of the elevator closed and the smiling face of Luffy was shut behind metal doors, a memory of bumping into someone on the streets surfaced in Zoro's mind. The green haired man blinked as he remembered the memory he had shrugged off a few hours ago. A memory of running around a corner and crashing into a black haired boy wearing a red vest and jean shorts. And then…

"Erk!" Zoro twitched as he remembered his lips crashing into a pair of softer ones. Sanji jumped away from the green haired man, as if he carried a contagious disease, and watched him suspiciously.

"What…?"

"I just remembered…!" The green haired man stared straight out into the air with wide eyes. Luffy was right! He _had_ kissed him…but did that even count as a kiss? He had passed it off as an accident but apparently the black haired boy thought of it as a true kiss…

The blonde haired man eyed his enemy and somewhat (though he would never admit it) friend curiously, wondering what the heck had happened to him. "You remembered…?"

Zoro slowly turned to stare at Sanji and then realizing who he was talking to, he quickly glanced away. "Uh…" He wasn't sure if he should tell the blonde about his first encounter with Luffy…

Sanji watched Zoro for a while, noticing the quick averting of his eyes. The blonde shook his head and sighed. "He truly is an idiot. Can't even remember what he remembered…"

The green haired man clenched his fists in irritation and his cheeks flushed slightly pink. "Shut up, you cheese head!"

**.:.**


	3. Chapter 3

**.:.**

(Listening to Mirai Koukai. One Piece ending.)

_Tick…_

_Tock…_

_Tick…_

_Tock…_

Luffy lay on his bed idly, staring at the digital clock standing on Usopp's desk. Seven o' clock. Only one more hour until he had to get to the arena and fight Sanji. Truth be told, the black haired boy had grown to like the blonde haired man. So, Luffy didn't feel like beating up Sanji anymore. Sure, the man had insulted Usopp but he wasn't _that_ bad of a person. And he usually acted mean only to protect the girls that he loved. Luffy snickered to himself and stared up at the ceiling. Sanji sure liked a lot of girls… The boy started humming to himself and watched as the minutes ticked by. He glanced into the mirror Usopp had set up in the room and stared at his reflection. Hopefully the plan would work and he wouldn't have to actually fight. And besides, if he started fighting against Sanji, he would probably have to go all out. Luffy pouted and lay in his bed sluggishly. He really didn't want to go all out on his first day in the city…

_Bing bong~!_

The black haired boy blinked and jumped out of bed. He hopped towards the door and swiftly opened it, blinking at Usopp and a person he had never seen. The person looked sort of like a man…but at the same time he was wearing thick green mascara…

"Eh…?" Luffy blinked and stared at the man wearing a ballet outfit with swans on his back.

"Luffy, this is Bon Clay. He'll help you fight against Sanji!" Usopp smiled confidently and swiped his nose, proud of the work he had done.

"You're going to fight Sanji like that?" Bon Clay spoke in a slightly nasally yet high voice. Then, with a quick twirl, the man/woman struck a pose and shouted. "Stop jooooking arooooound!"

"Ah-re?" Luffy blinked as Bon Clay pushed him inside.

"I'm going to teach you a few things before you go fight against Sanji…!"

**.:.**

Roronoa Zoro sat in the audience of the arena, sitting back in his chair and yawning widely. A few girls behind him giggled, blushing and watching him wipe away the tears that were forming in his eyes after yawning for so long. He frowned and turned in his seat to stare at the girls for a moment. They froze and stared back at him. Then, he turned back in his seat and scratched his head in annoyance. The girls behind him giggled and chattered to each other more enthusiastically than before. Zoro let out a heavy sigh. Why did that curly eyebrow wake him up? He watched Sanji fight for two years already. Surely, this fight would be no different! The blonde would face off against the new kid and then kick the kid's ass across the floor. But little did Zoro know that this fight would be entirely different. Because this time, Monkey D. Luffy was Sanji's opponent…!

The blonde haired man tapped his foot impatiently. It was eight o' clock already. Why hadn't the black haired boy come yet? Had Luffy chickened out? Sanji scoffed to himself. Yeah, right. Luffy didn't seem like that kind of person…so what was taking the boy so long?

In the audience, an orange haired girl peered over the heads of people interestedly, glancing around the arena.

"Nami-san? Why are we here…? I thought you hated the arena?" Vivi whispered to her friend sitting beside her. Nami waved a hand in the air dismissively and looked around for the black haired boy who had caught her interest. How would he fare against Sanji-kun? Nami smirked and crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back in her chair. It would be an interesting match.

Suddenly, the elevator rang shrilly and the audience's breath caught in their throats as the doors opened. Bon Clay stepped out and twirled towards the audience. Then, he stopped, balancing on one of his toes, and smiled.

"I am proud to present you all… Plan B..." Bon Clay gestured to the black haired person stepping daintily out from the elevator, escorted by Usopp, "... Luffia!"

"Erk…!" Zoro's breath was nearly knocked out by the sight before him. He stared at the boy standing at the entrance of the elevator. This kid couldn't be serious, could he?

"Ah…ah..." Nami's eyes bugged out and her mouth was hanging open. No way…did he have any dignity at all? Vivi covered her mouth to stop from bursting out loud in laughter.

Sanji foamed at the mouth. The sight… it was…a monstrosity…!

Luffy stood at the entrance of the elevator, wearing a school girl's uniform. The blue skirt he was wearing was only as long as a pencil. It just about covered the edge of his bottom. His chest area was overly stuffed with cotton—almost threatening to burst out from the top of the shirt—so that he looked like he had breasts the size of watermelons. And the boy wore heavy make-up. So heavy that his cheeks looked like patches of pink and his lips were as red and glossy as a new car. His hair had been tied into two tufts on the side of his head, like two mini pigtails. To top it off, 'Luffia' stood in all 'her' glory posing confidently like a man: feet spread out with 'her' hands balled into fists on 'her' hips.

"Yosh! Sanji-kun, let's fight~" And then, as if 'she' had done it dozens of times before, 'Luffia' blew a kiss in the blonde's direction and winked, which nearly knocked all the people in the audience over their seats.

Nami stood up in indignation and clenched her eyes and hands together. "You IDIOTS!" Her ferocious shout bounced along the walls of the arena and everyone present froze. She walked towards 'Luffia' and grabbed 'her' hand, dragging 'her' towards the changing rooms. The orange haired girl glared at Bon Clay and turned to her blue haired friend, who was giggling to herself in the audience. "Vivi! Come help me…!" The blue haired girl's mouth formed an 'o' and she hurriedly picked up her purse while scurrying quickly into the changing rooms. Nami turned to the other girl's in the audience. "Come on! Who's got the make-up remover? We're gonna make the real 'Luffia', dammit!" She growled and ducked back into the changing rooms. The girls in the audience glanced at each other and then smiled mischievously together. Heck, they wouldn't miss the opportunity to dress up someone as cute as Luffy! They started digging through their purses, looking for any sticks of lipstick or tubes of mascara they could let Nami borrow.

Zoro glanced behind him at the girls who had been giggling before. He watched them through narrowed eyes as they dug through their purses, piling an assortment of make-up accessories on the chair. A bead of sweat rolled down his head and he quickly snapped his head to the changing rooms, wondering what the crazy girls were doing to Luffy. He never knew there were so many odd looking things just to make girls look pretty…

The males in the audience watched as girls rushed in and out of the changing room. One of the men searched around in their backpack and picked out a tube of chapstick.

"Maybe this'll help…?" He shrugged and handed it to one of the girls going into the changing rooms. His friends blinked at him in astonishment and he smiled sheepishly in return.

Sanji stood on the arena stage, staring at the changing rooms with a gaping mouth and wide eyes. What in the world were they trying to do? Make Luffy into a girl so that he wouldn't fight him? Who made up _that_ lame idea? He knew that Luffy was a boy. So no matter how much they changed him, he would still be a boy! The blonde haired man shivered at the image of 'Luffia'. No way in hell would something like that turn him on…!

"Ah…ah, Nami?" Everyone in the arena space could hear Luffy's panicked voice echoing from the changing rooms. Beads of sweat rolled down their foreheads as they heard the boy struggle against the girls. "Ow! What the heck is that? Wha…? A small knife? Gaah! H-help me…!"

The people outside of the changing rooms gulped nervously as they heard the various comments flying out from the black haired boy and the girls inside.

"Hold still or else I might poke your eye out, idiot!"

"EEEE! My eyebrows!"

"Luffy-san! Stop speaking, please!"

"Bleh! This tastes disgusting!"

Zoro's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. This was more of a stand-up comedy than a battle…! What the heck was wrong with that black haired boy? And who gave him the idea to become a girl? That was just plain weird…

**.:.**

"All right! All done…!" Nami sighed and studied her work carefully. A wide smile spread across her face and she pointed at the black haired boy. "Stay in here until I tell you to come out, got it?"

Luffy nodded in understanding, staring up at the orange haired girl with round and frightened eyes. He was possibly traumatized for the rest of his life… But Nami didn't care! The orange haired girl stared at him for a moment and then let out a small 'squee!' before hugging him. Vivi giggled and she brushed Luffy's black hair with a comb.

"She's so cute, isn't she?"

Nami crossed her arms over her chest and smirked. "Sanji wouldn't even lift a finger on a cute little girl like 'Luffia'!" She pulled out a digital camera from her pocket and pointed the lens at the 'girl' sitting on the white stool of the changing rooms.

"Make copies, will you?" One of the girls in the room giggled. The orange haired girl grinned mischievously.

"Of course, but it'll cost you!"

**.:.**

The girls who had previously entered the changing rooms were now leaving and settling back in their seats excitedly, glancing at Sanji from time to time. Zoro stared at the excited girls with raised eyebrows and he listened to the boys chattering to each other, wondering what Luffy would look like after being worked on by so many girls. Idiots. Why did they get so worked up about something like Luffy turning into a girl…? The green haired man scratched his head and glared at the changing rooms. This was stupid. He should've just left and gone to sleep…

"Okay, everyone!" Nami stepped out and walked proudly onto the arena stage. "With much perseverance and effort, we have gathered all of the suitable cosmetics in the room to create the most natural and cutest 'Luffia' possible!"

The audience clapped their hands and watched Nami gesture towards the changing rooms. "I present to you…the true 'Luffia'…!"

Luffy stepped out, smiling sheepishly in his new appearance. Sanji's jaw dropped along with a few other people. Some laughed and some stared at Luffy in awe. Zoro felt his breath knocked out from his chest for a second time as he stared with wide eyes at the black haired boy who no longer looked like a boy.

Vivi smiled and pushed Luffy forward to the arena stage so that he could be seen more easily in front of the audience. The black haired boy gulped and then nodded confidently to himself, standing up on stage for all to see. He still stood in his manly pose: feet spread out at shoulder's width and his hands balled in fists at his hips. But, his face was clear of the previous make-up and his cheeks were neatly accentuated with a light pink blush. Light eyeliner and eye shadow were applied so that his eyes looked brighter and deeper than normal and a brush of mascara made his eyelashes longer. His lips were colored a shade of pink and a small blot of lip gloss made his lips shine cutely when he pouted. His chest was also fixed to look like true breasts. Curved perfectly and slightly large, but not off the scale. The boy's normally messy black hair had also been combed straighter and a lacy silver ribbon was tied into his hair, finishing off the cute school-girl lolita look.

Nami kicked at Luffy's foot and the boy immediately changed his pose into the one the girls had made him practice. Feet together and hands clasped behind his back shyly.

Sanji ogled at Luffy's face and chest, wondering how the girl's had made 'Luffia' look so real…It was incredible…! And 'Luffia' looked so…so…

The blonde wriggled around the 'girl' on the arena stage and hearts circled around him as he watched 'Luffia' smile at him. "Luffia-chwaaan~! You're so adorable!"

Zoro had to fight back the chuckles that were starting to erupt from his chest due to the absurdity of the situation and he slapped his forehead with his palm. That idiot. 'Luffia' was still Luffy! Geez… They just changed him...! A little bit…

Or perhaps not so little…

But he had to admit, this battle—if he could still call it a battle—was quite amusing…and what made it even more entertaining was the fact that Sanji was losing so badly…! Zoro looked back up, and smirked, waiting for what would happen next.

Nami nudged the black haired boy, giving him the go signal. Luffy grinned and turned to face the blonde wriggling around like a boiled noodle.

And, as he had practiced with Usopp many times before, 'Luffia' blew a kiss at the blonde and winked. "Sanji-kuuun~ Let's fight!"

Sanji turned into a pile of mush on the ground.

Zoro burst into laughter and slapped at his thigh, pointing at Luffy and the blonde, not bothering to cover up his chortles as the rest of the audience had already started laughing long before he had.

Luffy blinked and peered down at the blonde haired man, who had keeled over with hearts still dancing over him. Then, he glanced over at Zoro and watched the man slap his thigh and laugh merrily. Luffy studied Zoro for a moment. Somehow, he could hear the man's laughter clearly over all the others and Luffy decided right then and there that he liked that deep laughter full of mirth. The boy beamed cheerfully at Zoro, which caused the green haired man to abruptly stop laughing and merely stare at Luffy in bewilderment. How could the boy smile so happily? Wasn't it strange to be standing up there in girl's clothes? But more importantly, who knew that people could actually smile so brightly and sincerely…?

Zoro's cheeks went pink from the intense smile that Luffy was sending him and the man frowned, averting his eyes and breaking the eye contact between him and Luffy. The black haired boy stopped smiling and blinked in confusion, tilting his head to the right, regarding the green haired man curiously. Why did Zoro turn away? Did he really not like him…?

Usopp made his way onto the arena stage and smirked, slinging an arm around Luffy's shoulder casually. "See? What did I tell you? The plan would work…! One hundred percent!" The long nosed boy grinned, giving Luffy a thumbs up. The black haired boy grinned back and the two boys danced around together happily, singing 'The plan worked! The plan worked!' repeatedly.

Nami pounded a fist into Usopp's head and muttered agitatedly. "So it was _your_ idea, huh? You could've tried to make Luffy look better than _that_! Geez…!" She shook her head sadly and turned to the cross-dressing black haired boy. "You're an interesting kid, Luffy. So, from now on let's work together." The girl smirked and stuck out her hand. "My name is Nami and I accept you as my friend."

Luffy blinked and shook her hand dumbly. "Eh…but I know your name is Nami already…"

The girl let go of the boy's hand and huffed angrily. "Well, I've introduced myself properly now. So you know me through a proper introduction and not through some random yelling by a blonde haired dork!"

The black haired boy laughed loudly and then grinned at his new friend. "Nice to meet you, Nami. My name is Monkey D. Luffy!"

The two shared a smile. Maybe this would be the beginning of a beautiful relationship…!

"Okay, now that we're friends, 50,000 illeb." Nami grinned and held out her palm, "Pay up for the makeover."

"Whaaaa?" Luffy stared at the orange haired girl with wide eyes. 50,000 illeb? That could pay for a whole month's worth of food…! Usopp snickered from behind Luffy and the black haired boy turned to stomp on his friend's foot with force and annoyance. The long nosed boy abruptly stopped laughing and held his foot in pain. The two boys stared at each other irritably until Vivi jogged onto the stage, holding Nami's digital camera in her hands.

"Nami-san, are these pictures okay?" The blue haired girl smiled and handed the camera to her best friend.

Nami searched through the images, grinning slyly at the pictures. "Not bad…not bad at all."

"Pictures? What pictures?" Luffy hopped behind the orange haired girl and peeked over her shoulder. "Hey, that's me!" He stared at the cute looking girl in the pictures and he turned to look at Usopp. "Do I _really_ look like that…?"

"Mm." The long nosed boy nodded honestly.

"Woah…" Luffy stared at his pictures with round eyes, "This is really weird…" There were pictures of him dressed as a very pretty girl, laughing and staring at the audience. It was practically a different person…! As the pictures flashed by, he observed himself and was surprised at how short the skirt actually was. At least the front part of the skirt covered his private area properly. But his backside… his eyes widened as he spotted a corner of the tight white panties Usopp and Bon Clay had forced him to wear under the skirt. He turned to Nami hastily. "O-oi…what are you planning to do with those pictures…?"

"Selling them of course." The orange haired girl smiled toothily at Luffy.

"AH?" The boy blinked and then tried to grab at the camera. But, Nami quickly maneuvered away from him and turned off the digital device, stuffing it back into her pocket.

"Hn hn. Think of it as payment for your makeover." The girl winked at him.

Luffy stared at Nami in shock. Then, he pouted and turned a pair of heartbreaking and dejected eyes upon Vivi, who jumped from being caught off guard by the boy's eyes.

"Why…?" The black haired boy sniffed miserably, "Why did you take those pictures of me…?" And the blue haired girl's eyes softened.

"It's okay, Luffy-san." Vivi patted the boy on the head and smiled reassuringly. "I'll make sure Nami-san doesn't sell the pictures off to anyone we don't know."

Luffy's jaw dropped to the ground and he promptly turned to Nami in horror. "You were planning on doing that?"

The orange haired girl shrugged. "Money is money." Then, she started to walk off towards the elevators. "It's been nice working with you, Luffy. I'll see you tomorrow."

Luffy stared at Nami with his gaping mouth. Even after she had long left with Vivi, he still stood there on the stage, frozen like a popsicle.

"Well," Usopp smiled and patted his black haired friend on the back, "At least you didn't have to fight against Sanji!"

Luffy slowly turned his eyes upon his long nosed friend and then, after a few moments of staring blankly, he started heading towards the elevators miserably. "This was a bad _bad_ idea, Usopp. It's all your fault! I should've just fought against Sanji. Now there are pictures of me in this weird costume…" _Ping!_ A horrifying thought suddenly surfaced in Luffy's mind. He gasped and turned to look at Usopp in terror. "What would happen if Shanks or Ace saw me like that?" The boy stopped in his tracks, his lips pressed into a firm line. No! That would never happen! It would _never_ happen! He'd make sure of it…!

"Shanks? Ace?" Usopp raised his eyebrows at Luffy. But, the black haired boy merely sighed and leaned against the wall soullessly. The long nosed boy snorted and put a comforting hand on Luffy's shoulder. "Oi, oi. If it makes you feel any better, you and Luffia look really different! So, just think of the girl in the pictures as Luffia and think of you as you! See? Feel better now?"

"But…" Luffy glanced down at himself and then looked back up at Usopp skeptically, not feeling better at all. The fact that a few boys and girls in the audience were still ogling him made Luffy feel even worse.

"Okay…maybe we should go get you changed, _now_…" The long nosed boy hurriedly pushed Luffy into the open elevator doors and pressed the number 35 on the panel. The quicker Luffy was back in his normal clothes, the faster Luffy would be his happy, carefree self again.

**.:.**

Zoro glanced over at Luffy and Usopp, who were scampering into the elevators, and he let out a breath of air he didn't know he had been holding. The green haired man glanced around the arena seats and noticed that nearly everyone had gone now that 'Luffia' had left the stage. Zoro leaned back in his chair, staring at the bright arena. Today had been really abnormal…and it had all started since he met Luffy. The man scratched his head irritably and then sighed. He could feel his peaceful and quiet days slowly slipping away… Normally, he should've felt annoyed about having his peace disturbed. But for some odd reason, he wasn't feeling annoyed at all. Rather, his entire body felt sort of… light-weighted. Zoro scratched his head again, frowning slightly. He just couldn't figure it out. What was it that was making him feel so mixed up? One thing was for sure though. That all of this was probably due to Luffy's arrival at Lohm City's Academy of Arts.

"Nami-swaaan~ Luffia-chwaaan~" Zoro heard a familiar voice burble and he snorted at the blonde lying in an unconscious pile of the ground. The green haired man stood up and stretched out his limbs before walking towards Sanji.

"Oi. Wake up." Zoro nudged the blonde with his foot. "Everyone's almost gone."

"Luffia-chwaaan~ Give me a kiss~!" The blonde latched onto Zoro's leg. The green haired man blinked, remembering the accidental kiss he and Luffy had shared. Should he tell Luffy that he remembered…? Zoro shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. No, if he did, the boy would never stop bothering him. It was better to leave it be… but wouldn't it be better to tell Luffy that he remembered? Then he could explain to the boy that the kiss didn't mean anything. That it was only an accident.

"Mwuu mwuu mwuu mwuu~" The green haired man froze when he heard the sound Sanji was making. He shakily glanced down at the blonde and found Sanji's lips puckered up and ready to kiss Zoro's leg. The man's eyes widened in horror and disgust as Sanji's head inched ever closer.

"Fuck! Get the hell away from me!" Zoro shook his leg feverishly, trying to throw off the blonde haired man. Sanji was dreaming about kissing Luffy? Was he crazy? "You disgusting pervert!" The green haired man bashed the blonde's head into the arena wall, which finally caused Sanji to let go of Zoro's leg.

"Ugh…" The blonde shook his head, groaning as if he had a massive headache. "What the hell happened…?"

"You tried to kiss my leg, you asshole!" The green haired man shouted, nearly spitting out the words.

"What?" Sanji shot up on his feet in terror at the idea of kissing the marimo's leg. "That's disgusting! Who the hell would even think about kissing your legs?"

Zoro scowled at the blonde. "Well apparently you didn't mind it at all, shit head!"

The two boys glared ferociously at each other, daring the other to utter another insult. Suddenly, Sanji blinked and he glanced around the large room, breaking the unspoken glaring contest they had been competing in.

"Ah? Nami-san, Vivi-chan, and Luffia-chan? Did they leave…?"

Zoro nearly tripped over his own feet as he heard the last name in the blonde's comment. His eyebrow twitched slightly. Was this guy serious…? "Oi…you know that Luffia is Luffy, right?"

Sanji gasped and stared at Zoro in shock, clamping his face in between his hands. "How could you say such a thing, you terrible terrible person…!"

A bead of sweat rolled down Zoro's head. Sanji was serious…

**.:.**

Luffy sat on his bed in his light blue pajamas, staring irritably at the offending white panties lying far far away from him. He swore to himself that he would never _ever_ wear that thing ever again. The black haired boy sighed and let himself fall onto the mattress. Snuggling into his new sheets, Luffy sighed contently, feeling extremely refreshed after freeing himself from all the make-up and clothes on him. He had taken a long and hot shower too, which made him feel very relaxed. The boy stared at the blank wall beside his bed and started reflecting upon the days' events. It was a habit of his. Every night, Luffy would stare off at a blank area on the wall and think about all the things that had happened in the day. The boy thought about arriving in Lohm City and being kissed by Zoro…Even though the green haired man wouldn't admit it, he was sure that they had kissed! Luffy smiled to himself. He was absolutely sure!

The boy's thoughts started going through the rest of the day…meeting Sanji, Nami, and Usopp…making Sanji angrier at him during lunch…finding Zoro and listening to the man deny the kiss. Luffy stuck his tongue out at the wall. Stupid Zoro just wouldn't admit it…!

And then the rest of the day…Usopp's super aim…the huge food fight…getting chased around by Zoro…getting punched by Dr. Kureha…and then getting ready for the fight against Sanji…

Which just reminded him of the skirt and the uncomfortable underwear and the pictures that Vivi had taken of him…!

Luffy's eyebrows furrowed and he mulled over the comment Nami had made…she was planning on selling the pictures…! The black haired boy frowned and pulled the sheets over his head protectively. Some how he would have to make Nami return the pictures she had taken of him…he couldn't let Shanks or his brother see him like that!

The sound of the bathroom door opening broke Luffy's thoughts and he heard Usopp's footsteps pad their way across the floor. The black haired boy slowly sat up in his bed and turned to his room mate.

"Usopp?" Luffy asked, pulling his sheets over and around him so that only his face could be seen. The long nosed boy stopped drying his hair with a towel and glanced at the black haired boy.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Nami will really sell those pictures of me…?" Luffy frowned, thinking about the nice pictures and the not-so-nice pictures of him. Usopp rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"From what I remember, Nami usually gets all of those pictures printed and sold by the next morning..."

"WHAT?" Luffy cried out and fell back into his mattress limply, pressing his face into his pillow. "No way…!"

Usopp shrugged and returned to drying his hair. "I'm just telling you what I know. Sorry, Luffy."

The black haired boy sighed miserably into his pillow. Then, he sat back up and nodded to himself confidently. "Fine, I'll just have to get rid of the pictures right now!" He jumped out of his bed sheets and walked across the floor on his bare feet and blue pajamas, towards the room's entrance. But a hand on his shoulder stopped him and he turned around, frowning slightly. "Usopp, don't stop me! I have to get rid of those pictures!"

Usopp shook his head hurriedly, staring at his room mate with eyes open in terror. "You don't understand, Luffy! If you go to the girl's dorms or even try to take those pictures away from Nami…" The long nosed boy shuddered and started dragging Luffy back into the room. "Either way, you'll make things worse for yourself…"

The black haired boy shook Usopp's hand off and scowled. "I don't care! Anything's better than having Ace or Shanks see those pictures!" As he made a move towards the entrance, a pair of hands held him back again and Luffy turned around, rolling his eyes. "Usopp…just let me go. I'll be fine!"

"I don't think you understand the severity of the consequences, Luffy…" The long nosed boy spoke in a low and creepy tone. "If you go to the girl's dorms, Dr. Kureha _will_ find you…! If you take those pictures from Nami, Nami _will_ find you…! And the both of them will make you pay… They will make you pay _dearly_…you understand?"

Luffy nodded in understanding…

…and then started towards the door again.

An aggravated tick grew on Usopp's head and the boy breathed out heavily, watching his friend extend a hand towards the door handle. He had to stop Luffy quickly! At least he still had one more trick up his sleeve…

"Okay, I'm telling you just once. If you leave this room, you won't be coming back in ever again!"

The black haired boy stopped in his footsteps and slowly turned to stare at the long nosed boy in confusion. "Why…?"

"Do you know what Dr. Kureha _does_ to people who sneak out at night…?" The long nosed boy stared intensely at Luffy, which made the boy involuntarily gulp.

"Eh…no?"

"She's got eyes everywhere and ears everywhere! You can't escape her claws…!"

Luffy's eyes widened in awe. "Claws? She's got claws?"

"Yeah," Usopp nodded as if he knew everything in the world, "I shouldn't tell you this but…I saw her when…when she…!" The boy shivered and turned away. "No, I can't tell you. It's too horrific…"

Luffy walked back towards his friend, staring at him with round eyes. "What? What? You saw her when she…?"

Usopp glanced back into the eager face of his room mate and pretended to sigh reluctantly. "All right…I guess telling you won't make things worse. And besides, I can rid myself of this burden."

"What is it?" The black haired boy nodded, waiting for his friend to continue, "What is it?"

"I saw her…" The long nosed boy's voice escalated in drama and volume, "I saw her when she was changing into a monster! Her claws were the size of this room and her teeth alone could rip you to pieces!"

"A monster?" Luffy gasped and looked left and right nervously. "Are you sure you can tell me this? Doesn't she have eyes and ears everywhere…?"

"I set up a special barrier in this room." Usopp grinned slyly and pointed to the beetles sitting in the glass tanks. "They're the secret! Hercules and Atlas will help hide us from Dr. Kureha's eyes and ears!"

"Wow…" Luffy watched Usopp pat the tops of the glass tanks gratefully and then smiled. "Then all I have to do is take Hercules and Atlas and then go to Nami!"

Usopp's head snapped up, causing Luffy to jump at the hasty reaction. "No! You must not do that! There are special magic spots in this room and if you take Hercules and Atlas away from these spots, the barrier will break forever!"

Luffy gulped. He didn't want that to happen…! But wait a second…that didn't make sense…! "But, Usopp…you said that I could take Hercules and Atlas to scare Sanji as Plan B, remember? You said that Sanji hates bugs and offered to let me borrow your Hercules and Atlas…"

The long nosed boy shook his head hurriedly. "No no, I said that you could take the tarantulas. Not Hercules and Atlas."

"Oh…" Luffy scratched his head and then pouted. "Then how am I supposed to get to Nami's camera?"

"I'm sorry, Luffy. It's just too dangerous outside…you'll have to wait until morning." Usopp nodded and watched as the black haired boy sighed in depression and slumped onto his bed. The long nosed boy wiped away the cold sweat that was running down his forehead. Yes! The lie had worked! Actually, he would've liked it if he didn't have to lie to his good friend…but it was for Luffy's own good. Usopp had heard about what happened to the students who went out past curfew.

CP9. Cipher Pol Nine.

He heard that name whispered in the hallways every time someone had tried to sneak out at night. And out of all of the students who had tried to sneak out, none returned to school the next day unharmed… All of the victims said the same thing…a flash of a dark cape and a strange looking mask…

So, he was telling a lie to protect his friend! It wasn't like the other times when he lied to save his own skin…

The long nosed boy heard Luffy sigh dejectedly again and he glanced over at his black haired room mate. Seeing Luffy with so little enthusiasm was so strange… He scratched his long nose nervously and tried his best to cheer up the boy. "You know…I was just making a rough estimate when I said that Nami would sell those pictures by tomorrow morning. She might take longer than that, you know?" Hopefully that would help Luffy out of his depression.

"…really?"

Usopp nodded reassuringly. "Mm!"

There was a pause and then he heard Luffy start to speak again.

"Thanks, Usopp."

The long nosed boy froze for a moment and watched the black haired boy shift in his blankets before lying still. Then, after regaining his senses, a wide smile started to spread across Usopp's lips.

"No problem, Luffy. You can count on me to help you!" He could see his room mate smiling back even though the black haired boy was facing away from him.

Usopp finished drying off his hair and hopped into bed, listening to the sounds in the room. There was the familiar noise of soft gnawing from the beetles and the tapping of hairy legs on glass. The whisper of soft wind, caressing the windows gently. But there was a new sound today. A light and comforting snore from the bed on the opposite side of the room. Usopp smiled and drew his sheets over himself, settling into the mattress beneath him happily. He finally had a new friend…!

**.:.**


	4. Chapter 4

**.:.**

(Listening to Hey, Ho, the Wind and the Rain by Ben Kingsley in Twelfth Night 1996)

Every morning, the entrance to Lohm City's Academy of Arts was devoid of noise or movement. A few students would sometimes pass through, on their way to the administration office or perhaps to the nurse. But, rarely could any student be seen roaming the lobby of the academy during the early hours of the day.

Monkey D. Luffy, on the other hand, and his new friend, Usopp, were entering the black and white area, chattering to each other excitedly.

"Okay, read your courses to me again?" The long nosed boy led his friend into the lobby and glanced around the room, looking for the pink haired receptionist.

"Eh…" Luffy glanced down the paper in his hands, "Tae Kwon Do, Tai Chi Practicum, another class about sparring—"

Usopp stopped in his tracks and stared at his black haired friend pointedly. "Uh…you're taking a lot of fighting classes there…"

Luffy grinned and shook his head, "Wait, you haven't heard the rest yet! I'm also thinking of taking Choir."

"Okay…" The long nosed boy stared skeptically at Luffy, wondering if the boy could even sing in tune, "You still have one more course."

The black haired boy squinted at his schedule and scratched his chin. "For my last class, I couldn't choose between Cooking class and Eating Etiquette…but I think I'll choose Eating Etiquette…"

Usopp slapped the back of his hand against Luffy's shoulder. "Oi. Do you even know what Eating Etiquette is?"

"If it has the word 'eat' in it, it should be pretty fun!" Luffy sent his dark skinned friend a carefree smile.

Usopp sighed and pulled out Luffy's course booklet. "Did you just read down the list of course names without even taking a look at their descriptions? Here, look." Usopp muttered and flipped open the course booklet. He quickly pointed to the description under 'Eating Etiquette' and held it out for Luffy to see.

"A course focused upon learning the proper eating habits and manners for breakfast, brunch, lunch, supper, dinner, and tea time. The class will cover over the different traditions of eating manners and the ways of eating in cultures ranging from American and European to Chinese and Japanese styles." Luffy read it out and then looked up, grinning at his friend. "Sounds good to me!"

The long nosed boy shut the course booklet with a snap and shook his head sadly. "Whatever you say, Luffy…whatever you say…" He looked up and found Hina bent over, searching around the desk for something. "Ah…Hina-san?"

The woman hastily righted herself and tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear. "Yes, Usopp-kun. May I help you?"

The long nosed boy nudged Luffy in the ribs and the black haired boy stepped forward quickly, handing his schedule to the receptionist. "I've finished filling in the times and course classes!" Luffy smiled and then turned to Usopp, "We can get breakfast now, right?"

"Is that the only thing you think about?" Usopp yelled in exasperation.

Hina skimmed her eyes over Luffy's schedule and then looked up, raising an eyebrow at the boy. "You have chosen three courses concerning the martial arts…"

"Yep!" The black haired boy grinned back. Hina frowned and crossed out one of the courses.

"You can only choose two courses under the same category. You can change next semester though."

"EH?" Luffy stared at the schedule with round eyes, "No way! Where did it say that?"

Usopp sighed and shook his head, "You didn't read the entire course booklet, did you..."

The pink haired receptionist passed the schedule back to Luffy and shrugged. "Tough luck, boy. Give it back to me when you're done."

"Mmm…" Luffy's eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully and stared at his schedule, "How about if I take the sparring course, the eating course, the cooking class, the choir class, and the boxing class…?"

"That would work." Hina smirked and snatched the paper from the boy's hands. She started tapping at the screen in the desk and waved at the two boys. "You're done. Go get your breakfast and come here before lunch to pick up your official schedule."

"Thanks, pink haired lady!" Luffy grinned and waved at her before heading back down the hall, towards the elevators. Usopp followed behind, staring at his friend in confusion.

"Boxing? When did you decide to take that…?"

The black haired boy poked the up button on the elevator and beamed at his room mate. "Just now."

Usopp stared blankly at Luffy and then turned away, hanging his head hopelessly. "I don't understand you…"

**.:.**

"So," Luffy said between bites of pancake and syrup, "When do we go talk to Nami?"

Usopp wolfed down the cereal and milk in his bowl and crunched on it for a moment. Then, the boy swallowed, "We're not going to Nami." And then, he finished the rest of his cereal.

Luffy nearly spit out the food in his mouth and his eyes widened in shock. He stared at his friend with a betrayed look. "We're not?"

"No," Usopp calmly started peeling a banana for himself, "Always take the longer and safer route."

The black haired boy stuffed a plate of eggs and sausages into his mouth and chewed in confusion. "Fwat'z lat suppose to mean?"

The long nosed boy smirked knowingly, "We're going to Vivi." And then, he took a bite out of his banana.

The two boys stuffed themselves with food, preparing themselves for the rough day ahead of them. After all, people always did say that breakfast was the most important meal of the day…and who knew when they would need to use all that energy from the first meal of the day? Luffy and Usopp scanned their eyes around the cafeteria, looking for the blue haired girl. One of the elevators opened and luckily for them, Vivi and Nami came out, chatting to each other lightly.

"Oh! There they are!" Luffy pointed at the two girls, chewing on his chocolate muffin excitedly. "Let's go ask Vivi now!"

"Hold on," Usopp took a bite from a blueberry muffin and snapped at his friend, "We have to be tactful. How can you even think of asking about taking the pictures back right in front of Nami?"

Luffy watched as the two girls picked up their trays and started looking around the breakfast bar for food. He frowned and turned back to his dark skinned friend. "Then what do we do?"

"Listen to this…" Usopp gestured for Luffy to come closer, smiling proudly at himself for coming up with such a great plan.

**.:.**

Sanji hid a yawn as he stepped out of the elevator and onto the tiled floors of the cafeteria. At once, the delicious aromas of scrambled eggs and French toast with maple syrup wafted around him. The blonde frowned slightly, detecting with his nose a little too much salt in the eggs. But, he brightened at once when he caught sight of a certain orange haired girl and her blue haired friend near the breakfast bar, deciding upon which course they should eat. His eyes leapt into hearts and he was about to tornado towards the two lovely girls when two dark haired boys grabbed his arms and dragged him off around the corner, abruptly stopping his love chase.

"Wha—? What the hell are you two bastards doing?" Sanji shouted, struggling from the grips of Usopp and Luffy. They pushed him into the boy's bathroom, ignoring the other males blinking in confusion as three young men burst inside, causing the door to slam into the wall with an enormous _bang!_ Courtesy of Sanji. "LET ME GO, YOU SHITHEADS! WHAT IS THIS? REVENGE OR SOMETHING?"

Luffy merely grinned and removed his hands from the blonde's sleeve. Usopp followed suit and smiled, "No no, it's nothing like that. In fact, quite the contrary…" Sanji raised his curly right eyebrow skeptically as the long nosed boy continued, "We wish to help you earn the heart of Missus Nami. And we know the secret to her affections…!"

The blonde snorted and started to push past the two boys, heading back towards the cafeteria. "Sure, like I'd believe—"

"Of course!" Usopp interrupted smoothly, closing his eyes knowingly, "I suppose if you don't want to know, I can tell Luffy here instead. I'm sure he'd have an easier time at winning Nami's love than you. Especially with my secret…!"

Sanji froze in his footsteps and spun around quickly, his eyes flashing as he glared in the direction of Luffy, who merely blinked back obliviously. The blonde haired man quickly stepped back towards Usopp and scowled, lending an ear to the long nosed boy. "Tell me." He snapped and leaned closer to Usopp while sending sharp and ferocious stares at Luffy.

"Okay, if you want to win Nami's heart then…" Usopp covered a hand over his mouth and Sanji's ear so no one else could hear. Luffy stared on, smiling secretly in his mind. If everything went according to plan, Sanji would be able to hold Nami's attention away from Vivi for at least a few minutes. How did Usopp come up with such brilliant ideas anyhow? And then Luffy nodded to himself, deciding once and for all that Usopp must've been some sort of genius.

After a few seconds, the curly haired boy stepped back and smirked as Sanji stepped back, frowning thoughtfully to himself. Then, a mischievous smile crept across the blonde's face and the two young men exchanged a thumbs up sign.

"Go get 'er, tiger." Usopp playfully shoved Sanji towards the bathroom door and the blonde nodded, eagerly scurrying out the door. As the door shut, Luffy and Usopp locked eyes for a moment of silence. Then, after a quick exchange of grins and thumbs up signs, the two boys followed each other out the door. The males in the bathroom watched silently as the last of the weird trio left and the door swung to a shut. Seriously… a bathroom with many boys inside, all of whom were perfectly capable of hearing in on their conversation, wasn't exactly an ideal place to share secrets like that…

As Luffy and Usopp exited the boy's bathroom, they quickly locked onto Vivi's location and found the nearest table to her. They observed quietly as Nami and Vivi lightly laughed together while picking up a few bagels onto their trays. Luffy frowned, eyes flickering from every corner of the cafeteria, looking for the blonde haired man desperately. If Sanji didn't do something soon, he would lose his chance at asking Vivi about the pictures taken of him! And if he lost this chance… who knew when he could find another opportunity? Nami could sell the pictures by then! In fact, perhaps Nami had already sold the pictures…? Luffy's eyes widened in horror and his jaw clenched, setting his lips in a firm line. _I have to find out now…!_

Suddenly, a miracle! Sanji was strolling coolly towards the two girls, smiling charmingly. Yes! At last, the blonde was making his move! And Luffy would have his chance! The blonde gracefully plucked the tray from Nami's hands and grinned. After spooning a few pieces of whole wheat toast and taking one of the tangerine flavored jams, he grinned at Nami, who looked on in disinterest and tapped her foot in annoyance. Vivi giggled and started to another side of the breakfast bar, leaving the two alone.

Luffy's eyes lit up. This was it! His chance! He started to leap from his seat, intending to pounce on Vivi and interrogate her, but a hand stopped him. The black haired boy glanced at Usopp in confusion. Why was he stopping him? Vivi was far away enough, wasn't she…?

Usopp shook his head, reading his friend's every thought. "No, Luffy. You still don't understand how Sanji is like around Nami and Vivi. We must wait for something bigger... and better…" The dark skinned boy spoke wisely. Luffy frowned in disappointment, but decided that it was better to listen to the genius…

"Sanji, may I have my tray back now?" Nami sighed impatiently, holding out a hand to receive the tray. But, Sanji lifted an index finger, waggling it in front of her teasingly.

"Ah ah! But first…" He swiftly wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her body against him. Then, the blonde deftly locked his lips upon the orange haired girl's lips. Nami didn't even have enough time to gasp as she felt Sanji's soft lips on her own. The people of the cafeteria went silent. Vivi covered her mouth with her hands and her eyes were round in surprise and delight. Her tray fell slowly. Almost as if in slow motion. The bagel floated delicately, the syrup of the French toast splattered out in the air, and a cup of orange juice went sloshing up and out of its container. And with a great clatter and _splat!_ an uproar from most of the men in the cafeteria erupted. Nami stood in shock, merely staring up at the blonde haired Sanji who was still kissing her with closed eyes while perfectly balancing her plate of breakfast in his free hand. Luffy snapped his head to his good friend Usopp, expectantly looking at him. The long nosed boy nodded. This was their chance they were waiting for!

As the men of the Academy of Arts wrestled their way towards Sanji and Nami in fury, Usopp and Luffy quickly sprinted towards an unsuspecting blue haired girl. With a quick swoop, as if picking up a football from the field, Luffy tucked Vivi under his arm and sprang out of the cafeteria and into the boy's bathroom with Usopp. The males in the bathroom turned to watch as the door slammed open once again, this time revealing two boys and—to their shock and horror—a _girl_. They shrieked and quickly ducked into nearby stalls while zipping up their pants hastily. Vivi blinked in surprise as she found herself standing in the boy's bathroom only a second after standing in front of the breakfast bar and witnessing her two best friends kiss. Luffy was standing in front of her, peering at her anxiously, while Usopp was off to the side, whistling smugly and patting off his hands.

"Eh… Luffy-san? Usopp-san?" The blue haired girl blinked, turning her gaze from one boy to the other, "Why did you bring me here?"

Immediately, the black haired boy in front of her stepped up and put a hand on her shoulder. "Vivi, I need your help…"

She blinked curiously, "Eh?"

Luffy sighed and started to pace around in circles on the tiles of the boy's bathroom. "Yesterday, you took pictures of me as Luffia. And then, Nami said she was going to sell them. I'm going to ask a few questions…" He stopped in his pacing and abruptly faced Vivi seriously. "Will you listen and answer them? Please…?"

The blue haired girl felt a bead of sweat roll down her head and she smiled nervously, hoping that the questions he were going to ask her wouldn't be too strange, "Of course, Luffy-san. What do you want to ask me?"

"Okay…" The boy sighed, trying to relax his mind so that if he got an answer he didn't want to hear, it wouldn't cause him to fall into deep depression. "Okay, has Nami…developed the pictures and…sold them…yet…?" He winced inwardly after his question, hoping for the best. What if Ace had gotten a hold of one of the pictures? What if Shanks had? He was sure that they would recognize him immediately. And then he wouldn't have the face to show himself in front of them ever again…!

Vivi tapped her chin in thought, trying to remember what she had heard from Nami. Luffy's heart was beating faster and faster. It felt as if his entire body were like a balloon, filling up quickly with air and about to burst. Then, at last Vivi smiled at him, "No, I remember that the place where Nami-san usually develops her pictures closes shop on Sundays. So, she hasn't gotten the pictures developed or sold yet."

Luffy let out a breath of relief and the bubble in his stomach slowly released. But as quick as it had been relieved, it filled up again as another anxiety filled his mind. "And when does the shop open on weekdays…?"

"Well…" Vivi started and hummed softly, pondering to herself again. Luffy held his breath, hoping that whenever it opened, he could get there and stop Nami. The blue haired girl nodded, remembering the times of when the photo shop opened, "Weekdays would be open from ten am to seven pm…and Nami-san has a free period just before lunch. She'll probably go to the shop at that time to get the pictures developed…" Vivi smiled apologetically as Luffy pouted again. The black haired boy sighed in annoyance. Hopefully his schedule wouldn't overlap with Nami's time. He had to go and stop the pictures from being developed! It was time to get his official schedule!

"Thanks a lot, Vivi." Luffy nodded appreciatively and started racing out the bathroom door. But the blue haired girl stopped him and glanced down at the floor.

"There's something else…"

Luffy blinked and stared at Vivi curiously. The girl looked back up into the black haired boy's eyes and gripped his arm tightly, "There's something you should know. Nami is planning on selling the pictures tonight at nine o'clock. She'll be at a nearby bar called the Seven Pillars. She usually keeps the negatives of blackmail pictures in her shirt so it'll be hard to get. So…in case you don't get the pictures destroyed, you still have a chance tonight…"

The black haired boy watched the girl quietly and then smiled. "Thanks, Vivi. You're a great help! I'll repay you one day!" And with that, he left the bathroom, followed quickly by Usopp. Vivi watched as the two boys left and the bathroom door swung shut. Then, the bathroom stalls opened slowly and she watched as the males in the bathroom peered warily at her. The blue haired girl giggled and then started out the room, back into the chaos of the cafeteria.

**.:.**

"Now what?" Usopp asked as he watched his normally cheery friend punch the down button of the elevator several times urgently. Luffy glanced up and groaned as he watched the number '98' reduce in number one by one. Who the heck lived on the 98th floor? And why the hell _was_ there a 98th floor? How many floors were there, anyway…? Luffy hopped from foot to foot, ignoring the cries of anger and crushed hopes in the background. He even ignored the enormous sound of a slap coming from the breakfast bar. Usopp flinched slightly and turned to witness a pulsing red cheek on Sanji's face with an equally red faced Nami standing nearby, breathing abnormally fast.

"Hurry up, damn elevator…" Luffy muttered poking the down button again. Usopp turned to stare incredulously at the black haired boy, wondering how in the world he hadn't reacted to such a loud slap! He shrugged, deciding that trying to understand Luffy was much harder than memorizing the encyclopedia, the dictionary, and the thesaurus at the same time. He might as well not try it. And so, he returned to his earlier question.

"Luffy, now what? Where are we going?"

"…schedule." The boy muttered to himself pressing the down button repeatedly and watching as the number on the small screen above the elevator reached '67'.

"HAH?" Usopp shouted as the volume in the cafeteria escalated. "REPEAT THAT, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"MY SCHEDULE!" Luffy shouted back in annoyance.

_Ting!_

The doors of the metallic device opened, revealing a familiar green haired man leaning on the back wall of the elevator with his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were closed, as if he were taking a quick nap. But, one eye opened sharply and he stared grumpily up at the scene before him: Luffy shouting 'my schedule' loudly, Usopp covering his ears…and a whole group of idiots brawling with each other in the cafeteria. Zoro let out a sigh of exasperation and decided to stay in the elevator rather than face the bustle of the cafeteria. Somehow… he had a feeling that all of this was probably connected to Luffy…

Speaking of Luffy, Zoro noticed that the boy was wearing an expression equally grumpy as his own. The black haired boy didn't seem to notice his presence and walked briskly into the elevator, smashing the '1' button a fair amount of times before Usopp jumped in and the elevator doors closed. Zoro raised an eyebrow at Luffy's actions. What was wrong with him…? He seemed really nervous. The green haired man watched the boy a little longer, wondering what had happened to him. Suddenly, he jerked awkwardly as he remembered the boy's lips on his own again. Right, there was still that issue of telling Luffy that the kiss they had accidentally shared was not real… Zoro sighed and ran a hand through his hair irritably. This whole thing was just too messed up. Why didn't he pay more attention to the corners of the street? If he had paid more attention, he would have been able to avoid this entire conflict. He seriously needed more training. Zoro quickly decided that for now he would put off the ordeal of telling Luffy about the kiss. First, he would go back to his room and practice his swordsmanship before trying to get breakfast again. Yes, that sounded like a good plan.

Luffy didn't pay attention as someone from behind him reached to press the '65' button on the elevator panel. All that mattered now was checking that he had the time to stop Nami before she developed the pictures. The elevator slowed to a stop and he felt his heart quicken in its pace. As the doors opened, he rushed out and nearly flew to the lobby desk, searching for the pink haired woman.

"Oi, Luffy!" Usopp followed after Luffy and listened as his friend pressed the bell on the receptionist's table hastily. "Luffy, calm down a bit. Do you remember the times that you picked for your classes? Usually you get the times that you picked for your official schedule. So try to remember."

Luffy paused in his nervous breakdown and grunted as he tried his best to remember what he had written down on the piece of schedule paper. He tried thinking about each class he had picked and he tried remembering the layout of the paper and where he had filled it in with writing. But, to no avail. He could not remember anything. The boy rang the bell on the desk a few more times, pounding heavily on it, waiting for Hina to come out.

Usopp sighed, watching Luffy worriedly. Then, the desk moved and he blinked, deciding to peer behind the table. To his surprise, he found the pink haired receptionist stuck in the square-like area under the table.

"I was looking for something." Hina quickly explained in annoyance and tried to wiggle her way out of the desk. "A little help, please. Now. There's some irritating person ringing the bell."

"Uh, sure…" Usopp felt a bead of sweat roll down his head and he stooped down to help dig the woman out from the desk. She patted herself of any dust and settled down in her chair.

"Normally, I would just break the desk and free myself. But, this table is an exception. It was given to the school by a very important person." The pink haired lady spoke calmly as if she hadn't just been stuck under a desk.

"Pink haired lady! I need my schedule!" Luffy suddenly burst out and almost slammed his hands down on the table. Hina stared at him skeptically and frowned slightly.

"Monkey D. Luffy, right? You were the irritating one, weren't you?" She opened one of the drawers under the desk and flipped through a file, swiftly pulling out a sheet of paper. But she paused in handing the black haired boy his schedule and stared at him with piercing eyes, "No manners. How rude. Why should I give you this schedule?"

Luffy slumped sadly and he stared at the woman with tired eyes. He just wanted to quickly find out a way to prevent himself from being embarrassed in front of the two most important people to him… He sighed and then peered at the pink haired woman tentatively, "Please…?"

Hina warily watched the boy for a moment and then handed the paper to him, smirking slightly. "That's better."

"Thank you!" The boy cried gleefully and stared down at his official schedule. Usopp came around and peered down along with him. They both scanned the list of times and found the period right before lunch… taken up by his sparring class! The two boys groaned in disappointment and rubbed their eyes, hoping they had read wrongly. But, no matter what, it remained the same. Luffy would not be able to stop Nami from developing the pictures in time… unless… The two boys stared at each other and then bolted towards the desk Hina was sitting at.

"Pink haired lady! Can I change this course to another time? Please? Please?" Luffy pointed enthusiastically at the course right before lunch. Usopp nodded eagerly, pointing at the course labeled 'Practical Sparring for Everyone'. Hina squinted at the paper in annoyance, wondering why this boy would want to change his course time on his official schedule when he had been the one to pick them.

"Let me see what I can do." She answered briskly and started typing on the screen built into the desk, dragging a few things here and there, tapping another few buttons. Luffy and Usopp watched in awe and anxiety as the woman checked for any other times for the course. As she paused in her typing, the breath caught in Luffy's throat and Hina looked up sharply, staring back at him through maroon eyes. "I'm sorry. That course only has two times. The one you have now and one closer to the evening. The evening class is full. You're lucky enough to get into that class for the mid-morning, so stop complaining."

Luffy drew back and gulped, staring hopelessly at the paper in his hands. Usopp put a comforting hand on his shoulder. And then suddenly, it was as if the clouds had cleared, the rain had stopped, the fog had lifted… Luffy couldn't destroy the pictures Nami had of him… unless…

They both faced each other simultaneously and lifted up an index finger in exclamation.

"Skip class!" They chimed happily.

Hina raised an eyebrow and scowled. How _dare_ these two have the guts to even say something like that in front of a staff member like her!

"_Excuse_ me…?" The pink haired woman growled, standing up from her seat and sending them both menacing glares.

**.:.**

"Well, I've got to head to class. Portrait painting, you know? See you, Luffy. And just read the signs around the halls. They'll tell you exactly where to go for each course you're taking." Usopp managed to smile despite the large bruise on his cheek. "Good luck with those pictures. I know you'll destroy them in time!"

"Mm!" Luffy grinned, wincing slightly as his bruised eye ached when his eyes smiled with his grin. "Thanks, Usopp. I'll definitely find a way to get out of class and stop Nami!"

They waved to each other and split their separate ways, Usopp leaving towards the elevators on the left side and Luffy to the right. As the long nosed boy disappeared around the corner, Luffy glanced down at his schedule, trying to make out what it said with his good eye. The other was too puffy to see anything but dark blurs of light from now and then. And he swore that he could feel the blood pulsing around his eyelid. Man, that pink haired lady sure packed a punch…!

"Cooking for the Masses…23rd floor…room 2B…" Luffy read aloud and smiled while starting towards the nearest elevator. This didn't seem so hard. All he had to do was just get in the elevator, press the '23' number on the panel and find room 2B! Piece of cake.

_Ting!_

The doors opened, revealing an empty elevator. After stuffing his schedule into the chaotic depths of his pockets, the black haired boy stepped in and watched as the '23' button lit up in blue after he pressed it. And then, he was going up! Up and up and up…! What would class be like? Who would he see? Luffy smiled in excitement, watching as the number of floors gained in number one floor at a time. Suddenly, the wooden room stopped. 5th floor. Luffy blinked and watched that as the doors opened, students were squishing their way into the room, hastily pressing the buttons on the panels. Luffy's eyes widened as nearly all the buttons pulsed in blue light. What? So many people! They would have to stop at so many floors! When would he be able to get to the 23rd floor?

The doors closed and Luffy sighed, relaxing as he felt the elevator soar up, pulled by some powerful force or magical technology. And as quick as the elevator had started moving, it abruptly stopped.

_Ting!_

Luffy groaned as a few students left the elevator and even more students tried squeezing in, causing Luffy to squish up against the back wall of the elevator uncomfortably. The elevator doors closed again.

_Ting!_

And then opened. And then closed.

_Ting!_

And then opened and closed.

_Ting!_

Students bustled in and out.

_Ting!_

In and out.

_Ting!_

_Ting!_

_Ting!_

_Ting!_

At first it had been amusing, what with the people bustling in and out, sometimes shouting insults at each other and sometimes desperately trying to burrow themselves into the pack in the elevator… but now? Luffy slumped against the back wall wishing to be let out of the claustrophobic space and at the 23rd floor as soon as possible. Someone was jabbing his back with their elbow, which was undoubtedly uncomfortable. He closed his eyes. How much longer did he have to wait to get out?

_Ting!_

He glanced up at the number slowly and immediately, his eyes lit up. Yes! The 23rd floor! He pushed and shoved his way through the people in front of him, fighting to get to the doors of the elevator. And then, almost as if death himself had ascended to greet him, he saw the elevator doors starting to close…

"Aaah! No no! Stop the doors!" Luffy fought bitterly against the tightly packed group of students. "Someone get it open! Get it open!"

God must've heard his calling.

The elevator doors opened again and he sighed in relief as he stumbled out from the cramped wooden room. Now, he was in an empty white hallway… Where were the signs that Usopp had mentioned…? And somehow there were no students in sight…

"Hmm… let's see…" Luffy rubbed his chin thoughtfully, glancing left and right. "Which way should I go…?" The left hallway was white with no students in sight. The right hallway was white with no students in sight. Well, then it didn't matter which way he went, right? Both hallways were white with no students! The black haired boy went with his instincts and turned left, strolling cheerily down his path, deciding to put his worries behind him for now. He was going to cooking class…!

At once, he spotted a sign on the wall—which was quite easy to spot since it was the only thing colored black—which read in silver letters:

- Rooms 1 – 10

Elevator & Rooms 11 – 20 -

Luffy beamed as his instincts were proven true by the new sign. Soon enough, room 1A appeared and after a few more rooms and walking, the black haired boy came across the beige colored wooden door labeled '2B' in golden engraving. He took a deep sniff and smiled happily as he recognized the smells of eggs, meat, bread, cheese, and many other tasty foods. With little or no thought, Luffy grabbed the handle of the door and pushed down on it, shoving it open.

"Late, Mister Monkey D. Luffy." Was the first thing that greeted him as the black haired boy stepped into the room. A few dozen students wearing aprons over their uniforms stared back at him from behind marble counters. He blinked back and studied the room, wondering where the voice had come from. At the front of the room, near the doorway, stood a man with a tall chef's hat and a long braided moustache that nearly reached the floor. One of his legs was missing, replaced by a wooden peg, and Luffy began to wonder why a teacher teaching cooking class had a missing leg. The man turned his sharp eyes upon him and he gulped involuntarily, feeling as if he were facing up against something that held much more wisdom and knowledge than he did. As if this teacher had experienced the unimaginable and there was no way that Luffy could ever match up to him. "Stop looking and get moving." The man clunked over on his wooden leg and threw an apron at the boy. Then he nodded in the direction of a few empty counters and moved silently back to the front of the room where his own marble counter full of ingredients stood. After catching the apron in his hands, Luffy hastily made his way to an empty counter, glancing over his shoulder at the teacher curiously. What an interesting teacher…

"Now, as I mentioned before we were interrupted," The stoic looking teacher pointed at his stainless steel bowl and a sack of flour, "We will be using simple ingredients today. All-purpose flour, warm water, leek, olive oil, sea salt, and perhaps some eggs. First, you will—"

Luffy raised his hand into the air, waving his arm back and forth like a worm. The teacher frowned and stared at the new black haired boy. "What is it, kid?"

"What's your name?" Luffy asked in sincere curiosity, watching his new teacher with round eyes. The mustached teacher scowled and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Right, since you came in the middle of the year…" He mumbled to himself before heaving a sigh, "I'm Zeff. Just call me 'Teacher'. That's good enough for you. Now, if you have no more questions…" Zeff started to return to the stainless steel bowl and the flour. But Luffy was not finished.

"How'd you lose your leg?"

The students of the room gasped and stared at the black haired boy with wide eyes. Suddenly, a heavy kick to his head, from the counter to his right, sent him into the ground and caused a large crater in the tiled flooring. Luffy leapt up immediately, rubbing his head profusely. "Who did that?" The boy shouted indignantly and frowned as he came face to face with no one other than Sanji. The blonde was sneering at him while holding the pose of having just kicked a piece of garbage. He returned to his normal standing position and lifted a cigarette to his lips, closing his eyes and puffing in slowly as if he had settled something. Luffy lifted up his fists and moved his right foot back in a ready stance. "Why did you do that?"

"Payback for breakfast. And you're being rude to the old man." Sanji spoke coolly although when he opened his eyes, they were fierce and blazing with anger. A peg leg was suddenly flying through the air now and it hit Sanji squarely in the back, sending the cigarette out of his mouth and onto Luffy's forehead.

"AAAHH! Hot! Hot!" The black haired boy danced around, trying his best to cool off the burn on his forehead while the blonde haired man bent over, coughing from the heavy blow to his back. Zeff stood towered over the two students menacingly, his hat nearly reaching the ceiling.

"Stop fooling around, you two." The teacher barked with his arms crossed over his chest importantly, "I'm the one running the class. And the last time I checked, this was a cooking class. Not a sparring one. So, get back to paying attention, you bastards." He pointed at Luffy, "No more questions. And," He pointed to Sanji, "No smoking, you good for nothing piece of shit. Now, back to class."

The students blinked as their teacher clunked back down to the front of the room calmly, as if the whole ordeal had never happened, and Sanji managed to stand up straight, glaring at the teacher in annoyance. Luffy pressed a palm to his forehead, feeling the pain on his forehead start to fade away. Sanji eyed the black haired boy and scowled. He sent a harsh whisper towards Luffy, "It's all your fault, you shit head. The old man usually lets me smoke in class."

Luffy shrugged and whispered back, "You shouldn't have kicked me then."

"Che." Sanji frowned and pretended to pay attention to the front of the room so that the teacher didn't catch them speaking to each other. "You and long nose made Nami mad at me. I don't regret kicking you." Luffy frowned and glanced at the blonde standing at his counter, staring straight ahead at the teacher. The black haired boy liked Sanji, but why didn't Sanji want to like him? Was there something about him that annoyed the blonde or made the blonde especially want to hate him?

"All right, kids. Team up with the person next to you. Let's start cooking. By the end of class, I want each of you to have finished at least eight fried leek pancakes. Start!"

"Ah." Luffy blinked. He hadn't been listening at all, so hopefully his partner would know what to do and he could just follow along. Otherwise, how would he get through his first class…? He glanced to his left, wondering who his partner would be. But he was met with only an empty counter. The boy blinked again, starting to put two and two together. _If there's no one on my left, then my partner's to my right. And, Sanji's to my right…_ He slowly turned his head in the blonde haired man's direction and met a pair of irritated and angry eyes.

"We're not working together." Sanji said pointedly, glaring at Luffy. The black haired boy sighed sadly and started to give up hope on getting through his first class. He'd just have to mix all the ingredients together and try to make something edible…

Suddenly, he heard the blonde mutter half-heartedly. "We'll work at the same table… but it's only because I don't want to look suspicious. Not because we're friends." Luffy looked up from his counter and watched Sanji picking up a cup so that he could measure how much flour he needed for the fried leek pancakes. A smile spread across the boy's face and he hopped towards Sanji's counter eagerly.

"Shi Shi Shi." Luffy chuckled to himself while observing Sanji's movements, trying to copy and measure the right amount of flour. The blonde haired man scowled and paused to send the black haired boy a look of dislike. Luffy merely smiled back, feeling happy that the man didn't hate him that much. He poured a cup of water into the stainless steel bowl and proceeded to dump the cup of flour into the bowl. Now Sanji, who had turned to watch Luffy's side of the counter, suddenly caught a heart attack as the flour fell into the warm water in clumps.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" A feral shout erupted from the depths of the blonde's chest, his eyes nearly popping out of his sockets. The students in the room paused in their stirring, chopping, or mixing, and focused their eyes upon Sanji and Luffy. Zeff frowned in annoyance, crossing his arms over his chest and watching Sanji disapprovingly. Luffy emptied out the last bits of flour from his cup and lifted the empty cup to Sanji's eyes, smiling obliviously,

"I'm just putting the flour in the water so we can make the dough."

The blonde's jaw dropped to the ground and his eyes almost rolled back in his head. After quickly regaining his senses, Sanji took the bowl of flour and hurriedly mixed it with a spatula before putting it to the side, far from Luffy's reach. "You idiot! Were you even listening? It's better if you put the flour in first and then mix in the warm water slowly, so you know exactly how much water and flour you need!"

"B-but…!" Luffy stuttered, staring incredulously at his bowl on the other side of the counter. Sanji cut him off with the swish of his hand and he pointed at one of the cabinets at the side of the room.

"Ah ah! Don't you talk back to me, you idiot. Go get another bowl. We're starting over!" The blonde deftly lifted a knife in the air and started chopping at the leeks as if he had concluded something. Luffy pouted for a while but then smiled and skipped off towards the cabinets. _He said 'we'!_ The boy thought happily to himself, fishing around for another stainless steel bowl.

The students of 'Cooking for the Masses' blinked for a moment before breaking out into smiles and returning to their work. It had been a while since Sanji allowed someone to work with him during class. He was always such a perfectionist, preferring to work by himself than have someone else's help. How strange it was that he let such an idiot work with him… perhaps it was because Luffy was an idiot so Sanji allowed him to work under him…since idiots were more easier to manipulate…? Zeff smirked to himself, watching his blonde haired student chopping away at the leeks. Hopefully, the idiot would learn something valuable from the other idiot. The teacher secretly wished Sanji the best of luck while observing the two work together.

"Oi," Sanji nudged Luffy in the shoulder as the boy prepared a cupful of warm water. "I've got some of the dough done in this bowl. Why don't you knead that and I'll take care of the other batch of dough."

"Ou!" Luffy nodded, liking the sound of kneading the dough. It sounded like fun! Sanji passed the boy a slab of dough and started to measure another cup of flour. He heard a few slapping noises coming from Luffy and snorted, wondering why the boy was slamming the dough so hard. After slowly mixing the warm water into a bowl of flour with a spatula, he let the mixture sit for a while. Then, he worked up the courage to take a peek at how Luffy was doing with the dough. What he saw sent his spatula clattering onto the desk. The black haired boy was stretching the dough out with both hands while smacking the middle of it with his knee.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Sanji screamed, pointing at the stretchy dough and Luffy's knee embedded into the middle. The other students paused again and gasped as they noticed Luffy's knee prints in the dough. The black haired boy looked up from his work and blinked in confusion.

"But you told me to knee it." He spoke simply and continued to deliver another deliberate knee kick to the dough.

"So now you're deaf and stupid?" Sanji shouted and kicked Luffy in the head, causing the boy to release the dough in his hands. The blonde took the dough away from him quickly, balling it up and placing it back onto the table. Then, he turned to face Luffy and placed both hands on his waist in a patronizing stance. "I told you to 'knead' it. Not 'knee' it! Do you even know what kneading dough means?"

"Yeah, sure!" Luffy chuckled as if he were being asked a child's question, "You knee it! Geez, Sanji. Why do you have to pronounce it so weirdly? It's 'knee'. Not 'knead'."

The blonde haired man slapped his forehead with his palm and shook his head, trying hard not to laugh at the pure idiocy he was hearing. Then, after quickly regaining composure, he decided to ignore the black haired boy and knead the dough himself. He pointed a finger at the bowl he had finished mixing and sighed, "Just mix that so everything gets more elastic feeling. If it gets too sticky, add some flour in."

The students in the class chuckled and giggled at Luffy. They could tell at once that the black haired boy must've never cooked in his life. Or perhaps he was just too ignorant of the terms used in cooking…? After shaking their heads in wonder and disbelief, the students returned to their chopping, mixing, and frying. Only an hour left of class...

**.:.**


	5. Chapter 5

**.:.**

"Whew…" Sanji wiped away the beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead. He frowned and stared at the black haired boy standing next to him, humming happily. It was all his fault. When was the last time he worked up a sweat while making something as simple as fried leek pancakes? It was all because Luffy kept getting things wrong. 'Kneeing' the dough instead of 'kneading' it, stirring the dough too roughly, adding too much flour, adding too much salt, cutting the leeks in different shapes and sizes… How could someone suck so much at cooking? Now, Luffy was smiling back at him, oblivious to his mistakes. Sanji sighed and stared at the finished work. He grinned proudly. At least they had made eighteen perfect fried leek pancakes. Ten more than the required amount. The two boys shared a triumphant smile.

"All right, everyone finished?" The teacher spoke gruffly, smirking to himself while clunking towards the front of the room after checking every counter. "Okay, let's see your pancakes."

The class held out their plates, stacked with thin pancakes with neatly chopped leek bits inside, all browned and fried nicely with oil. Zeff glanced them over and nodded in satisfaction. Suddenly, he stopped on a plate with a taller stack of pancakes. He squinted at the plate for a moment and then looked up at Sanji and Luffy. "Eighteen?" Sanji smirked and cut off a triangle of the pancake. He handed the triangle bit to the teacher, daring the mustached man to try it. But Zeff merely scowled and walked away. "I don't need so many. Class dismissed. You all pass." As the students started chattering to each other and finished putting away their aprons and clean cookware, Sanji frowned and popped the bit of pancake into his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment and scowled,

"Che. Stupid old man doesn't know how to appreciate good stuff when he has it." And then he took the cut pancake and finished eating it. Afterwards, he untied his apron from around his waist and moved towards the wall of aprons, whistling merrily to himself. Luffy stood in his original position, watching the piles of pancakes on the plates curiously. Keeping his eyes on the pancakes, he stepped towards Sanji and tugged at the back of the blonde's uniform.

"Hey hey, is anyone going to eat those…?" The black haired boy asked earnestly. Sanji shrugged and hung his apron on the wall.

"I don't know. I'm not sure what the stupid old man is going to do with them…" As he trailed off, he noticed Luffy dash off towards the plate of pancakes. The next thing he knew, the plates were all empty and Luffy was standing next to him, mouth bulging.

"Mmm, these are good!" Luffy managed to say while chewing seventeen and fifty-six other pancakes. Sanji blinked and observed the black haired boy chew and swallow the last of the pancake in his mouth. Luffy patted his stomach contently and smiled warmly, "I think ours was the best though." The blonde haired man stared at the black haired boy with a raised eyebrow. But a smile quickly broke out across his face and Sanji laughed loudly, chortling from his stomach. The blonde put a hand on Luffy's shoulder and smirked,

"Well, at least you have some good taste buds there…!" Sanji chuckled and started out to the door, thoroughly amused by the strange new student. "I guess that sort of makes up for your poor cooking skills." Luffy laughed along, not really understanding what was so funny, but he felt relieved that Sanji had opened up to him more.

So, now what?

Luffy glanced around the room, immediately noticing the emptiness of it. Right. Onto the next class! He dug out his crumpled schedule from his pocket and studied the list. "Practical Sparring for Everyone… Room… Gymnasium…" Luffy stared at his schedule, utterly baffled. "When did we get a gymnasium…?" But more importantly… where was it? The Academy of Arts had more than 98 floors and here he was expected to find the gymnasium all by himself? Who were they kidding? It could be on any of the floors he hadn't been to. Which meant that there were at least 95 possibilities…! He trekked out the door and spotted Sanji strolling down the hall lightly. The boy followed hastily after, falling in step with the blonde. "Eh… Sanji?"

"Hm?" He replied casually, lifting an eyebrow curiously at Luffy.

"Eh… I need to get to the gymnasium… can you tell me where it is?"

Sanji smirked and glanced at the hallway in front of him. "Ah… you have Practical Sparring, right? Seems like a class you would pick."

"Aa," Luffy nodded and stopped as Sanji stopped in front of the elevator. "So… can you tell me where it is?"

"Yeah, sure. Just follow me." The blonde grinned just as the elevator rang its arrival. The black haired boy stepped into the elevator and watched as Sanji pressed the '360' button. Luffy's eyes bulged as he finally spotted the largest number on the panel. Three-six-o. "The gymnasium's on the top floor." Sanji voiced, amused by Luffy's interesting reaction. Then, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I guess we'll be in the same class again, then. Why don't we spar? You ran out on our last fight. So it's only fair that I get to beat you up in class."

"Last fight…?" Luffy blinked, wondering when he had ever run out on a fight. Then, he remembered. The night he had been forced to dress as a girl. The black haired boy paled considerably and stared in horror at Sanji. Did he think that he and 'Luffia' were different people or something…? "Uh… Sanji…?"

The blonde frowned at Luffy's tone of voice and narrowed his eyes threateningly, "You ran out on the last fight. It's only fair that we fight each other in class." He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall of the elevator, "Besides, I still didn't forgive you for forcing me into taking advantage of Nami-san!"

Luffy felt a bead of sweat run down the back of his head and his eyes averted to the side, lips pouted outwards in annoyance. "No one forced you…" The black haired boy muttered, causing Sanji to raise an eyebrow suspiciously.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing…" Luffy hummed and continued to avert his eyes from the blonde haired man. The rest of the trip in the elevator was spent in a strangely comfortable silence. A couple of students wearing the school uniform stepped in and out from time to time and the chime of the elevator rung at a smooth pace. Sanji glanced towards the black haired boy who was standing across from him, staring at the panel of numbers on the elevator wall. Something seemed strange about the boy… something that set him apart from the others… He glanced around at the students in the elevator and then set his eyes upon Luffy again, squinting his eyes slightly. Wait a second… why was he wearing the same thing he wore yesterday? A red vest and tattered jean pants? Where the heck was his uniform…?

"Hold on a second…" Sanji's curly eyebrow twitched in annoyance and he pointed a finger at Luffy, "Where the hell is your uniform?"

"Hah?" The black haired boy blinked as the heads of the people in the elevator spun towards him simultaneously. He looked down at himself curiously and then drew his eyes up to meet the eyes of the other students blankly. "Uniform…?"

Sanji shook his head dejectedly. Why hadn't Usopp told Luffy to wear his uniform? They were room mates, weren't they? Surely, Usopp would've reminded Luffy to change into the school uniform? It was part of the dress code, after all! "Oh, never mind. Just remember to wear your uniform tomorrow." The blonde scowled and checked the panel of the elevator to see which floor they were on, "You can get in trouble for not wearing your uniform around school, you know?"

"Oh!" Luffy nodded with wide eyes, "Right, I don't want to get punched by the old principal again." He blinked as Sanji froze on the spot and he cocked his head to the right curiously. Had he said something wrong? The few students in the elevator left, leaving only him and Sanji together again.

"Uh, Luffy…" The blonde smiled nervously, the corner of his lips twitching slightly, "It's all right if you call the principal 'old' in front of me… but please… _please_ do not ever say that in front of her." His eyes turned very serious, and he put a hand on Luffy's shoulder, as if he were passing on a very heavy burden, "You could die."

Luffy stiffened and he nodded quickly to show Sanji that he understood the grave situation. That woman really had some killer strength…!

_Ting!_

The two looked up at the floor panel simultaneously. In a glowing fluorescent blue, the number 360 flashed gently, welcoming them to the top floor of Lohm City's Academy of Arts. Luffy gulped and felt his stomach flutter in excitement as the doors started to slide open. This was it! The floor that stretched even above the clouds. The top floor…! Luffy jumped out eagerly and his eyes immediately shined brightly, taking in the sight. Sanji stepped out of the elevator casually and smirked as the black haired boy turned around in a circle, observing his surroundings. Instead of walls, the entire floor was lined from side to side with large wide windows, gleaming brightly and clearly. The windows were so clean it almost seemed as if there was nothing there. Nothing to stop someone from jumping off in a great dive or stand on the side and feel the strong winds blowing through their hair. Besides the windows, there were only two areas that had wall and that was the wall of the elevator, and the wall straight across from the elevator, sporting two large wooden doors. Luffy rushed towards one of the windows and pressed his face against it, staring down at the clouds below his feet.

"Wow…" He whispered and studied the beautiful light blue of the sky. The sun was shining so brightly it nearly blinded him. He closed his eyes and pressed his face against the window, feeling the cold glass against his face and the bright rays of sunlight warming his body. The boy turned to Sanji, smiling goofily, eyes still closed contently. This was a good feeling… The blonde blinked in surprise. Why was he smiling at him like that? It was such a stupid look. He shoved hands in his pockets and chuckled. Geez, there was no reason to get so excited… The view wasn't even that great. What an interesting idiot…

Luffy turned back to watch a few clouds float across the blue sky and the sun beamed down upon him. It was almost directly above him. Hold on… directly above him? That meant it would be noon in an hour or so...! Right, he had to go stop Nami from developing the pictures! Somehow he had to skip class and find Nami before she left the academy building… but how would he do it? A hand had suddenly grabbed the collar of his red vest and he felt himself being pulled away from the window and enormous view.

"Okay, it's about time we went to class." Sanji's voice drawled from behind Luffy as he was dragged across the floor towards the two large wooden doors. "We don't want to be late to this class. The teacher is pretty strict." The blonde easily pulled the wooden door and kicked it open wider. Then, he dragged Luffy into the gymnasium and lifted Luffy up in front of him with one arm so that the boy could see everything. The boy giggled as he floated in mid-air, suspended by Sanji's hand on his collar. His feet couldn't even touch the ground! As the black haired boy turned his attention upon the gymnasium, he gasped loudly and brought a hand up to his eyes in a salute as if he were looking at something far away.

"Woah… incredible! This is the gym?" Luffy shouted, dangling around in mid-air. Sanji grinned and promptly dropped the boy onto the ground.

"Yep." The blonde started walking into the center of the room, which seemed a good hundred meters away. Luffy pouted and rubbed his bottom, trying to numb the pain of having been dropped so carelessly. But then, he smiled and stood straight up, bouncing after Sanji and looking up and around him in awe. The beige floors were polished and gleaming happily back up to the ceiling, which stretched nearly four stories over Luffy's head. The entire ceiling had an intricate design of silver beams, all merging into one point at the middle. Bleachers stretched from one side of the rectangular gymnasium to the other side. Luffy suspected that the entire length of the gym was probably a thousand meters long! At least that's what it looked like to him… There were a few small windows around the gym, leaving light to pour in like buckets of gold, illuminating the entire place.

"Hey, you." A gruff voice suddenly spoke from behind him. Luffy whipped his head around and tensed slightly at the seemingly short-tempered tone of voice. He came face to face with a large, bulky man with silver white hair. And strangely enough… he was smoking two large cigars at the same time. "You the new kid?" Luffy merely nodded his head as the man scowled down at him, the smoke trailing around the both of them like a fog. Then, the man pushed past Luffy and started towards the group of people sitting obediently in the middle of the gym. "Move to the middle, kid. Unless you want me to do that for you, instead?" Luffy nodded and scurried to the center of the room, joining the others quickly. That guy was pretty scary. Was he their teacher…? The boy frowned in thought. Hm, it would be difficult to skip class… but he had to do it somehow…! As he neared the group, he spotted a familiar looking person sitting on the floor cross legged, lazily staring off into the distance as another student chattered to him. A wide smile spread across Luffy's face. It was Zoro! He had a class with Zoro! This was great! Now, he could see the green haired man more often. "Are you planning on taking all day, kid?" The silver haired man growled and nodded his head towards the students gathered in the center. Luffy frowned slightly and moved to the center. Of course he wasn't planning on taking all day. He had to leave soon! The boy glanced around for a seat and spotted an open space conveniently placed next to his favorite green haired man. Luffy leapt at the spot before anyone else could take it and grinned up at Zoro proudly. First, the man blinked in surprise. Then, he frowned in annoyance and turned away to pay attention to the silver haired teacher standing at the front. Luffy pouted at the man's reaction and watched the green haired man through narrowed eyes. Zoro still wouldn't admit to himself that he had kissed him, huh? Che… Luffy turned his face away and crossed his arms over his chest. Fine then, he could wait. One day the man would admit it. He'll definitely admit that they had kissed…!

"Okay, everyone remembers what we did last class, right? I don't need to go over it, do I?" Everyone shook their heads. The silver haired teacher nodded, glad to know that he didn't have to see any idiots so early in the day. "Right, then. To all the new ones," His sharp eyes flew to land on the only person wearing red in the room, "My name is Smoker. Just call me Smoker. I don't want any of that 'Mr.' crap." Luffy smiled and nodded back, demonstrating that he had heard. Smoker blew out a large billow of smoke. "So, basically we spar in this class. All right? Introductions are over. Any questions before we start class?"

Luffy pondered about this question for a moment. Then, he smiled. This was his chance! His hand shot up in the air, cutting off Smoker's signal for class to start. The silver haired teacher scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. Looks like he had an idiot… "The kid wearing no uniform?"

"Yeah, I have a question." Luffy started speaking, face hardening into a serious look. Zoro warily eyed the black haired boy sitting beside him. What kind of questions could he have? It was a sparring class. They _sparred_. The end. What else could he possibly need to know? Luffy continued, voice absolute and firm, "Can I skip class for today?"

Zoro keeled over despite sitting in a crossed legged position. Sanji's mouth hung open and his face went pale. And the other students backed away as they noticed the vein pulsating in Smoker's neck and temple.

"Skip… my class…?" Smoker seethed through grit teeth, fist clenching at hearing the absurdity and stupidity echoing from the new kid's mouth.

"Mm." Luffy nodded, hand still raised in the air. The silver haired man scowled deeply and tried to calm himself down. Yes, it would be stupid to get so worked up over an idiot.

"The only way to skip this class is if you're mortally wounded. And as I see it, you are not mortally wounded. So no, you can't skip class." Smoker raised an eyebrow at Luffy, "Unless if you willingly want to be everyone's practice partner?"

The black haired boy scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Hm, no. That's not a very good idea, teacher. I can't be mortally wounded. I still have to move around after I skip class…" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully while everyone in the gymnasium silently stared at him, utterly speechless. What… the hell…? What went on in this guy's head? Suddenly, they watched Luffy bop the bottom his fist into his open palm. "Ah! I know!" Smoker watched as the black haired boy stood up and patted off his jeans. Zoro stared at Luffy as he raised a hand up in a farewell greeting. Sanji blinked as his fellow classmate opened his mouth to speak again. "Ja, I'm off. Thanks for the class." And then, _poof!_ Luffy had sped off down the gymnasium floor and out the wooden doors. The students of the morning sparring class watched as their new student disappeared right before their eyes. Smoker was the first to come back to his senses.

"Why that little…!" He growled low and one of his cigars were chomped in half from clenching his jaw too tightly. The silver haired teacher pointed at the doors. "What are you kids doing? Chase after him! This is your warm-up exercise! Catch the no uniform kid and bring him back here, understand?"

"Y-yes, Smoker-sensei!" The students rushed out the doors, chasing after Luffy.

Zoro rose from his seat on the ground and patted off his pants before grinning. "Heh, this ought to be interesting." He glanced towards Sanji, who was tapping his shoes idly against the floor of the gymnasium. The blonde lit a cigarette and took a deep breath of the smoke before sighing.

"Never thought he'd do something like that…" The two boys locked eyes on each other and then smirked. In an instant, the two simultaneously launched out the wooden doors of the gym, towards the elevators. "I'm definitely gonna get him before you do!" Sanji shouted, glancing around for the staircase. The elevator would probably take too long to get back up to the 360th floor.

"Che, like I'd ever lose to a shit head like you." Zoro muttered and noticed the students standing in front of the elevator, waiting for the lift to come back up to the top floor. The green haired man scowled and searched for the staircase. He found a speck of blonde disappearing out of a door and he blinked before spinning his head to where Sanji had been just a second before. He was gone! "Dammit, I let him go first...!" The green haired man started running towards the staircase Sanji had just left and shoved open the door, ready to run down the flights of stairs. But oddly enough… all he saw were a few bags of garbage. No stairs in sight. Zoro's eyebrows furrowed and he slammed the door. Shit. Why didn't the school layout ever stay the same…?

_Ting!_

The green haired man heard the elevator bell ring and he immediately jumped into the group of classmates going into the elevator. Well, the elevator was better than wasting time to search for the door to the staircase, right?

Smoker walked out through the doors of the gymnasium, following after the dust left by his students. The man sighed heavily and lit himself another cigar. Such troublesome work to do… why did he take this job? He grumbled and then ran towards the staircase, deciding to catch the no uniform kid by himself. No one skipped Smoker's sparring class. And he wasn't about to let one scrawny little boy change that!

**.:.**

The cafeteria was bustling with students, all eager to fill their stomachs with macaroni and cheese and pizzas and burgers available to them on the counters. The doors of an elevator opened and a black haired boy, slightly out of breath, stepped out. He sucked in a deep breath, inflating his chest, and then yelled so that the entire cafeteria could hear, "NAMI? HAS ANYONE SEEN NAMI AROUND?" The students silenced and turned their heads to stare at Luffy in confusion. Wasn't he the boy who had started the food fight yesterday..? Luffy frowned when he heard no answer. He rubbed his head and stepped back into the elevator, pouting. "Huh, strange. I was sure she'd be in the cafeteria… it has so much good stuff to eat…" And then the elevator doors shut. The students blinked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. They started chattering again. A door on the side of the room slammed open, revealing a blonde haired man panting hard, trying to catch his breath. The students in the cafeteria watched Sanji for a few seconds, waiting for him to catch his breath.

"Has...hah…has anyone seen… hah… a black haired boy… with no uniform…?" The blonde sighed and wiped away the sweat forming on his brow from running down from the 360th floor to the 5th floor. The students stared at him, silent. Sanji nodded and lifted a hand in thanks before going back to the steps. The door closed and the cafeteria filled with noise again. The students took their food cheerily and ate their food blissfully… until another set of elevator doors opened, revealing a group of students in the elevator, staring blankly out from the inside. Zoro's voice came from somewhere near the back.

"Oi, have you guys seen a guy wearing a red vest and jean shorts? Or a blonde haired idiot run past?" The students all stared at each other and then glanced back at the elevator of students. Zoro nodded and pressed the elevator panel, "All right, thanks." And then the elevator doors shut. The students of the cafeteria eyed each other for a full three seconds before returning back to what they had been doing earlier at a slightly more subdued level. Well... that was weird... but still not weird enough to make it to the top of the list...

The door from where Sanji had burst from slammed open again, this time revealing a silver haired man, panting slightly from the exercise. "Oi…" He let out, frowning at all the students, "Did any of you see a group of idiots come by?" A few students nodded dumbly and pointed down at the floor. Smoker nodded and started heading down the next flight of stairs. The students stared at each other for the fourth time that day. But this time, they stayed silent for a few more seconds. Yes… seeing Smoker-sensei chasing after his students definitely made its way to the top of the list of weirder things they had seen…

**.:.**

Luffy jumped out from the elevator doors as they opened. His head glanced left and then right. He lifted his hands to his face, cupping them around his mouth. The boy started hollering down the halls, not thinking about whether or not he would be disrupting any classes nearby. "NAMI! NAMI, COME OUT AND FACE ME LIKE A MAN!" He frowned when there was no response and hopped back into the elevator. He pressed the '3' button and pouted. He had already checked all the floors from the 360th floor to the 4th floor. But there was no Nami in sight. Maybe… she had already left the building? No, it couldn't be! There were still three more floors left to check. He still had some hope! Luffy balled his fist and smiled confidently. Yes, he would find Nami no matter what!

**.:.**

"ORYAAAAAAAA!" Sanji shouted as he ran up a few flights of stairs, bursting out on random floors, glancing around for Luffy.

"HUOOOOOOOOOHHHH!" The blonde yelled as he sprinted down another flight of stairs, slamming open the door, surprising students in the hallways. He had been doing this for a while now… But somehow he could never find Luffy. Sanji frowned and stopped in his tracks for a moment. He rubbed his chin and glanced at the elevator suspiciously. Wait… Luffy was in the elevator, right? The blonde watched as the numbers went from 4 to 3. Sanji's frown grew deeper and he tilted his head to the right, staring at the number 3. And then, the number changed from a 3 to a 2. That was when it dawned on him. Luffy would be headed towards the first floor! He had been going down the floors consecutively! And the next floor Luffy was heading to would be the first floor. Sanji was sure of it! A sly grin spread across the man's face and he sped back to the staircase, racing down the steps as fast as his legs could carry him. Yeah, he'd show the marimo who the better one was.

"ORAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

**.:.**

_Ting!_

The elevator doors opened and the students inside peeked out before bringing their heads back in and shaking their heads, telling the others inside that there was no Luffy in sight. Zoro frowned in distaste. At this pace, Sanji would definitely catch Luffy before him. But he was the one who had to get Luffy first! He had to prove to Sanji that he was way more competent than the perverted blonde. But the curly eyebrows had probably checked nearly all the floors by now. Sanji had a high chance of finding Luffy on his next floor. So that's why…

"Hey, everyone. Let's play Janken. Whoever wins decides the next floor we're going."

…he was going to leave all of this to luck.

**.:.**

Luffy sighed dejectedly as the 2nd floor yielded no Nami. Just like the rest of the 358 floors… But there was still one more floor left. The first floor. The black haired boy brightened. Yes, she had to be there! And then he could stop her from getting the pictures developed. The elevator doors closed and it hummed ominously. The boy was feeling slightly uneasy. What if Nami wasn't there? Then what? He didn't know the city very well… how would he be able to find the shop Nami went to? Luffy clenched his jaw tightly and watched as the 2 turned into a 1. The elevator was slowing to a stop and his fist tightened. He would bet everything on this floor…! The black haired boy let out a sigh just as the doors opened. He stepped out and glanced to his right side. No Nami. Luffy involuntarily shivered. This was it. His last hope… He gulped and slowly turned his head the other way and immediately, he felt the burden on his shoulders and heart lighten. An orange haired girl was walking steadily towards the lobby. It was Nami! He had found her at last!

"Nami!" He shouted, running anxiously towards the orange haired girl. She stopped in her tracks and stiffened. The girl turned her head and peeked over her shoulder. There, she found Luffy racing towards her like a rampaging rhinoceros.

"Eee!" Nami cried and started moving faster towards the lobby. How did Luffy know she was here? Luffy ran faster, desperately trying to gain on Nami's trail. Suddenly, a door nearby burst open and a familiar blonde haired man leapt out, trying to catch the black haired boy with his hands. Luffy dodged in time, leaving Sanji to fall to the ground, and kept sprinting towards Nami.

"Wait! Wait, don't go!" Luffy cried reaching a hand out towards the girl. But she didn't turn to look at him, only moving faster towards the lobby. An elevator door opened and a group of students blinked and then gasped, pointing at Luffy chasing after Nami.

"There he is!"

"It's the no uniform kid!"

"What?" Zoro shouted and pushed through the students. He shoved them aside and then launched himself at Luffy, managing to touch the boy's shirt. But Luffy was fast and dodged before Zoro could grab him. The green haired man rolled across the ground and quickly got to his feet. "Dammit, I was so close…"

"Oi, marimo! Don't take my prey!" The green haired man heard his enemy shout at him. He merely smirked in reply and rushed after Luffy. Like hell he'd listen to the blonde's words. Sanji growled and sped towards Zoro, falling in step beside him. "He's mine, I tell you!"

"Shut up, I'm getting him!" Zoro spat in Sanji's face. The two snarled at each other, trying hard to outrun the other. Soon, they were almost behind the black haired boy. The two eyed each other and then glanced at Luffy. Then, they glared at each other again and lunged at the black haired boy at the same time.

Hina sat at the reception desk, watching as Nami leapt past the lobby towards the glass doors. The pink haired lady blinked as the troublesome new student named Monkey D. Luffy chased after, hot on her tail. And then, Hina's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as two men suddenly lunged out across the floor, nearly parallel to the tiled ground, aiming for Luffy. She watched as Luffy went down from the force and weight of the two males. What the heck was going on here…?

"Got you!" Zoro grinned, holding down Luffy's left arm and left leg.

"Caught you!" Sanji smirked, grabbing onto Luffy's right arm and right leg.

"Ugh!" The black haired boy cried as the two people pinned him down with their weight. He struggled to get up but the people on top of him were strong and kept his limbs down. He only managed to lift his head from the ground. Nami was now running down the street and he watched with anxious eyes as she disappeared around a corner. His last hope… was gone. Now, those embarrassing pictures would undoubtedly fall into the hands of Shanks and Ace and he would never be able to face them eye to eye ever again. The boy's head fell limp to the floor and he stopped struggling against Zoro and Sanji. The two older men noticed the lack of resistance Luffy was putting up and shrugged at each other before glancing down at the boy curiously. What had happened? It was as if all the fight in him had disappeared…

The door that Sanji had originally burst out of slammed open again and out came Smoker, breathing deeply to catch his breath, glancing around the hall cautiously. Finally… he had reached the first floor… and lo and behold, the no uniform boy had finally been caught. He made his way to the lobby and nodded approvingly, crossing his arms across his chest. "Good work, you two."

"Smoker…? You're the one in charge of all of this…?" The silver haired teacher heard a woman say accusingly from the front desk. He sighed and glanced over his shoulder.

"Oh. Hi, Hina." And then he promptly ignored the woman and pointed at Zoro and Sanji, "Right, let's get the kid back to class and do a proper warm-up together." The pink haired woman watched disapprovingly as Smoker led everyone back to the elevators.

Zoro and Sanji hauled Luffy up to his feet, but when they let go of the boy's body—thinking he would be able to stand by himself—Luffy fell to the ground gracelessly. The two men could feel an annoying tick in their heads. What was wrong with him now? Sanji grabbed the collar of the black haired boy's red vest and brought him up to eye level, squinting at the boy as if that would help him figure out what was wrong with him.

"Hey…" The blonde shook Luffy like a rag doll and Zoro watched as nothing seemed to stir the boy from his lifelessness. The green haired man frowned and stopped Sanji's hand from shaking Luffy. Then, he examined the boy's face. It looked pale, dull, and his eyes were completely devoid of light. He almost seemed dead… was this his form of depression…? If it was, Zoro didn't like it one bit.

"Oi," The green haired man pointed to Luffy's face, gesturing for Sanji to come look. "Do you think he'll be all right like this?" The blonde frowned at the boy's dejected expression and he scoffed, raising an eyebrow.

"Do you even have to think to answer that question?" They both frowned to themselves and gazed at Luffy uncertainly, wondering what had caused the boy to look so miserable and if there was a way to bring him back to normal.

**.:.**

The sound of water gushing out from a faucet came from inside the kitchen cafeteria. Clattering plates and the occasional squeak of hands on clean bowls and trays rang along the ceramic tiled walls of the cafeteria kitchen. Usopp dried a plate off with a towel before setting it gently down on the neat stack nearby. He nodded at his work and then turned back to frown at the two upper classmen. The long nosed boy took another plate from Zoro, who was in charge of rinsing off the soap suds.

"So, you two mean to tell me..." Usopp started again, trying to make sure he had all the information down correctly, "…that after Smoker ordered the entire class to chase after Luffy and you guys _tackled_ the poor boy to the ground, Luffy became the way he is now?" He pointed a finger at the black haired boy who was currently sitting down in a chair, slumped on the table, eyes dull and lifeless.

"Haaa…" Luffy had been making these strange noises ever since the morning spar class. No one in the class knew what to do with him, so they left him at the bleachers. Now, he was just staring off into nothingness, repeating the same mantra over and over in his head. His life was over… his life was over…

Sanji and Zoro gulped involuntarily and guiltily stared at the dejected looking boy lying on the table. They nodded, admitting to Usopp's accusations, and returned to their work, silently soaping the plates and rinsing them off under water. Usopp took the wet plate from Zoro and dried it clean with his towel, raising an eyebrow at the two. "Uh huh…" The long nosed boy frowned and set the plate down with a loud clang, causing the two older men to jump. "How irresponsible can you two get? Tackling a poor boy to the ground just because you guys are having a competition? People can get hurt like that, you know? Luffy just joined our school and already you two are causing him trouble. Geez, why do upper classmen always like to pick on the under classmen?" Usopp scowled and dried another plate while Sanji and Zoro stared down at their hands in shame.

"I didn't mean to…" Sanji murmured, glancing at Luffy with guilt, thinking that it was his entire fault for making Luffy so depressed. Usopp put his hands on his hips in a reprimanding position.

"Of course you didn't mean to." He threw the towel in the air to emphasize his point, "_No one_ ever means to. But look at what still happens," He jabbed Zoro's forehead with his index finger at every word, "People-get-hurt-!" The green haired man scowled at the long nosed boy and continued to rinse off the soap from the plates.

"Okay, we get it. It's our fault. But more importantly, how are we supposed to get him back to normal? We should think about that more, right? No use discussing what's already happened." He grunted and passed the wet plate to Usopp, who took it and dried the ceramic disk thoughtfully.

"Well, Luffy skipped class because he wanted to stop Nami from developing the pictures of Luffia…"

Sanji's ears perked up. "What? Nami-san has pictures of Luffia-chan?"

"Yeah, she's going to sell them off to anyone who wants to buy them." Usopp nodded.

"Mellorine~ Mellorine~"

Zoro creased his eyebrows, trying to piece together what the long nosed boy was getting at. "So if we just get the pictures before they're sold to anyone, then Luffy will return to normal again?"

"Yeah." Usopp nodded for a second time, smiling proudly because he knew Luffy more than anyone else in school. Sanji and Zoro glanced at each other. Wait a minute… then why were they feeling so sorry for tackling Luffy to the ground? The boy was fine! He was only depressed because he couldn't stop Nami from developing the pictures! Well… they were to blame for stopping the boy… so technically, it was still sort of their fault… but still! Luffy wasn't depressed because they had tackled him to the ground! The two men turned to glare fiercely at Usopp as they understood where Luffy's true source of the depression came from. This guy had been scolding them for no reason! Usopp stared back at them blankly. "What?"

"You said all that on purpose, didn't you..." Sanji grumbled, feeling a lot better now that he knew that he wasn't the actual source of Luffy's depression. Zoro shook his head in annoyance and quickly rinsed off the soapy plates.

"Anyway, do you have any idea when or where Nami will start selling the pictures? If we intercept her before then, Luffy doesn't have to worry about the photos anymore and then he'll revert back to normal."

Usopp's eyes narrowed in thought. Someone had said something about Nami selling the pictures… Oh! That's right! Vivi had told Luffy and him about the party being held at the nearby pub, the Seven Pillars. The blue haired girl had also mentioned that the party would be starting at exactly nine o'clock tonight... He bopped a fist into his palm and smiled, "Ah, right! Nami's going to be selling the pictures at that popular pub, the Seven Pillars. And she'll be going at nine o'clock tonight. Then, all we have to do is just get the photos from Nami before she sells them off."

The lifeless body of Luffy suddenly straightened, like a vampire rising from his coffin. It nearly caused the three males in the kitchen to drop their respective plates. "Seven Pillars… nine o'clock…?" The black haired boy mumbled before a glint of light seemed to form in the depths of his eyes again. The three males watched in fascination as Luffy suddenly seemed to be as energetic as a bull again. His foot was on the table now and his hand was fisted above his head victoriously. "Yosh! This time I won't mess up! I'll surely destroy those photos!"

Zoro snorted and grabbed a towel, flinging it at the boy's head. "Okay, but before that, it's about time you started your portion of the chores as well. Idiot." Geez, he had needlessly worried for Luffy. That boy was so stupid. He didn't even know how much power and influence he had over others. But at least, he was back to normal again. The green haired man smirked and returned to rinsing off soap from plates.

**.:.**


	6. Chapter 6

**.:.**

(Listening to Declan Galbraith's version of An Angel…)

From an outsider's point of view, Lohm City was a place known for its bleakness. It was a gray city, with gray roads, gray pavements, gray buildings, and gray people. But what the outsiders never truly witnessed was the deep and thrilling nights Lohm City held. The buildings would light up and glow against the dark sky and the normally gray shops along the road would morph into windows of fluorescent colors. Lohm City was in fact, quite very lively.

Monkey D. Luffy peered around the corner of the street, observing the couples and groups of people walking up and down the roads, entering and leaving shops. His brown eyes shone brightly and he turned his head to stare at the two older men behind him, his eagerness and excitement radiating off of him in waves. The blonde and green haired men merely stared back at the boy dumbly, each wondering to themselves why they were accompanying this idiot of a person on his quest to destroy pictures. Luffy turned back to peek around the corner.

"So, where is this Seven Caterpillar place?" He lifted a hand up to his eyes, twisting his head back and forth, searching for the elusive sign of 'Seven Caterpillar'. Sanji's curled eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"It's Seven Pillars, you moron. Not Seven Caterpillar!" The cigarette in his mouth bent from being clenched too tightly, "Where the hell did you come up with such a weird name? Who would want to drink at a place called Seven Caterpillar?"

Zoro snorted at the blonde's words and then quickly feigned a look of calmness when Sanji turned to glare at him. He ignored the sharp glares from Sanji and pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper. After smoothing it out, the green haired man turned it a few times in his hands before nodding in satisfaction and pointing ahead of them. "Don't worry. I've been to that pub a few times before. It should be right over there. Usopp's map also says that we're almost there..." Luffy and Sanji followed Zoro's pointed finger to a small sushi shop in the distance named 'Matsumoto Sushi'. Luffy scratched his cheek in confusion.

"But it doesn't say 'Seven Caterpillar'. It says 'Matsumoto Sushi.'" The black haired boy glanced curiously back at the green haired man. Then, after a short pause, Luffy continued with a concerned voice, "Zoro, are you hungry? It's okay if you are. We can go eat at the sushi restaurant, if you want. No need to hold it in."

The man blinked slowly when he heard the boy's words. Then, he blushed a furious pink, feeling thoroughly embarrassed for getting lost in front of these two people, and hastily yelled indignantly, as if that would cover his mistakes up, "I'm not like you, you idiot!" He crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance and frowned, "I was just following Usopp's map. Maybe he drew it wrong…"

Sanji shook his head and plucked the crumpled paper from Zoro's hands, eliciting a gruff 'hey!' from the man. The blonde sent Zoro a pointed stare. "You're so stupid, you probably couldn't read the map right. You've even been there before. How could you not know where it is?" He sighed and smoothed out the paper, lowering his head to scan over the intricately drawn map. The blonde looked up at the street name suspiciously and immediately scowled. Then, he rolled up the map and accusingly pointed it at Zoro, "You idiot. We were supposed to turn down the street a few blocks ago! Now we're wasting even more time." He started pacing down a street, leaving the other two no other choice than to follow him. "Come on, just keep up with me and I'll get us out of marimo's stupid mistake."

Zoro scowled, but followed after nevertheless. Luffy quickly moved to the green haired man's side, walking beside him, step for step. He chuckled lightly, grinning at Zoro with an easy smile. Zoro had so many interesting quirks. The boy really wanted to grow closer to the older man and know more about him. But for some reason, Zoro seemed reluctant to do so. But they had kissed hadn't they? That meant that Zoro wanted to be with him. But why was he still so reluctant? Luffy just didn't understand the green haired man. Maybe Zoro would tell him why one day? As the black haired boy smiled at the green haired man, the man stared back at Luffy for a moment, a frown etched on his face. Then Zoro gave a short humph and averted his eyes back to the blonde in front of him. After a few more turns and crossings of streets, the trio made their way into a street parked full of cars.

"Oi, you bastards. We're here." Sanji stopped on the curb and took his cigarette from his mouth, breathing out a trail of smoke. Then, he flicked the ash off the butt of his cigarette in the direction of the pub. Luffy jumped next to Sanji, joining the blonde on the side of the curb. His eyes grew round as he took in the sights of the people gathered around outside the entrance of the bar. Glowing fluorescent blue light pulsed around the two pillars standing at the doorway of the pub. Overhead, the words 'Seven Pillars' shone in a bright cursive font and a low rhythmic sound of the bass in the music could be heard echoing from the inside of the bar, beating deeply in Luffy's stomach and chest.

"Ou!" Luffy gasped and his fists balled into fists excitedly, "This is so cool! I've never seen or felt anything like this before! Look at all those people. And lights! And that sound!" He started to do a little bob of his head and then a tap of his toe. He was about to twirl in a circle when Sanji lightly slapped his head to stop him before he caused any further embarrassment. Zoro walked up to stand next to the black haired boy, raising an eyebrow at Luffy curiously.

"Never? Where did you live before you came here?" The green haired man glanced down at the boy and watched as Luffy paused for a moment. Then, Luffy scratched his head idly.

"Well, you could say that I used to live in—"

"Nami-swaaan~!" Sanji cried out in glee, spotting the orange haired girl slipping into the pub. Luffy's ears seemed to perk up and his sentence was cut off as he watched the blonde run towards the pub like a tornado. The boy sped off quickly towards the entrance, eyes alert and ready to spot any pictures. Zoro blinked, stunned by the flight of his two companions. And just when he was about to understand Luffy a little more… He rubbed the back of his head and then let out a groan before running after them. He could ask Luffy some other time…

The trio stopped in front of the doorway, blocked by an enormous person with a name tag clipped to the breast pocket of his black muscle shirt. Sanji and Luffy stared at the person in awe. Or at least Luffy did. Sanji's eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped open. The guard by the entrance seemingly had a panda head for a head… Zoro shook his head. Right. He had forgotten about the strange person the Seven Pillars had employed as a guard.

"Woah!" Luffy jumped around the man with a panda head, trying to take in every aspect of the guard. Was this normal in the city? No wonder the city was so amazing… there were people like this here! "What's your name?" The black haired boy noticed the name tag and grinned, "Oh, oh! Your name is Pandaman! That's so cool!" The man seemed to smirk and he flexed his bicep muscles impressively. Luffy grinned and imitated Pandaman, flexing his muscles. Sanji slapped his forehead and Zoro sighed. Sanji grabbed Luffy by the shoulder and started pushing him in.

"Focus, won't you?" The blonde muttered, steering the boy towards the doors of the pub, "Remember why you're here. Nami-san is already inside." Luffy immediately straightened and nodded seriously, moving towards the doors. But Pandaman swiftly stepped in front of them, arms crossed over his chest sternly. The man shook his black and white head solemnly and extended a hand out, as if waiting for some sort of pass.

Sanji's eyes narrowed and he frowned distastefully before sticking a hand into his pocket to pull out his wallet. He flipped open his wallet and displayed his ID card boldly in front of Pandaman's face. "You happy now? Can we go in? Luffy take out your ID card." The boy's mouth formed an 'o' before quickly digging around in his pockets for his ID card. Once he had found it, he proudly presented it to the panda man and smiled as the guard took it in his hands. But, Pandaman returned the card, shaking his head, and he waggled a finger at Luffy before pointing at Sanji to go in. Luffy blinked in confusion. Was there something wrong with his ID card? Was it a fake…? B-but it had only been this afternoon that he used the very same card to open his dorm room door! How could it be a fake?

"Wait, why can't I go in?" Luffy pointed at his ID, "I opened my dorm room with this card! It's not a fake!" Sanji frowned and reached to take the card from the boy's hands.

"Hold on… Luffy, how old are you…?" He flipped the card around and noticed the number '17' next to the word 'Age'. The corner of the blonde's mouth twitched and he threw the card back at Luffy, hitting the boy squarely in the cheek. "YOU'RE UNDERAGE, YOU IDIOT!" Sanji twisted his cigarette in his mouth with frustration. "Don't you know that you have to be at least eighteen years old to enter places like these?"

"WHAAAAT?" The black haired boy cried, clutching the card in his hands tightly. "NO WAY!" He glanced down at the card and stared at the number '17' in horror. He wouldn't be able to go inside just because he was seventeen years old? It couldn't be! A snort came from a few feet away and both Sanji and Luffy's heads swiveled to stare in the direction of the person who had snorted. Zoro chuckled and walked towards the pub coolly, lifting a hand up in greeting to Pandaman.

"It's all right. The kid's with me." The green haired man pulled the door of the entrance open and glanced over his shoulder. "Oi, are you guys coming in or what?" Luffy and Sanji's jaws dropped open simultaneously and they glanced towards Pandaman uncertainly. But, the man with a panda head merely smiled and nodded, gesturing for them to enter. Luffy took this as an expression of agreement and he grinned widely before hopping towards Zoro.

"Thanks Pandaman!" He waved to the guard and slipped through the doors into the dimly lit pub. The boy smiled widely at Zoro and the man stared back at the boy warily. Suddenly, Luffy made a pounce for the green haired man. Shanks had once told him that hugs were a good way to show deep gratitude. And he wanted to show his deep gratitude! Zoro's eyes went round and the green haired man quickly maneuvered himself so that Luffy didn't catch him in his arms.

"You idiot! Don't do something like that!" Zoro shouted, watching as Luffy's face collided with the door.

Sanji still stood outside, mouth agape. The blonde pointed a finger from himself to Luffy to Zoro, and then stared at Pandaman with round eyes. "Wait… wha? Why doesn't Marimo need to…? Why do I need an ID check? What the, wha? And Luffy… can just go in like that?" Pandaman nodded. Sanji narrowed his eyes. "Just because the stupid swordsman says so?" Pandaman nodded again, smiling. The blonde growled and started muttering agitatedly under his breath, moving towards the open door. "…stupid drinking buddy connections…"

Zoro closed the door when the blonde and the black haired boy had both entered. He turned to look at the crowd of people on the dance floor and the tables set around the room. A bar stood on the left side of the room and a black spiral staircase led up to the second floor on the right. Zoro nodded and started scanning his eyes across the crowd, looking for the orange haired girl with the pictures of Luffy. "Right. What do we do now?" The green haired man was about to turn to listen to their responses when he noticed two blurs flash away from his sides towards the center of the room. The next second, Zoro found Sanji sliding into a group of girls who were dancing together on the floor and he spotted Luffy jumping from person to person, searching their pockets for pictures and shouting, "Nami! Where's Nami?" The green haired man let out a heavy sigh and moved to the left side of the room to settle himself down in one of the cushioned chairs at the bar. A skinny looking man wearing black sunglasses grinned as he found Zoro sitting in front of him.

"Oh, Aniki! It's been some time! Yosaku's not here today. We've got a new person to manage the music. He's strange. Falls asleep at the worst times. But he's pretty good, eh?" Johnny smiled while deftly pulling out a large glass from the shelf. "Would you like the regular?" Zoro waved a hand at him and rubbed his temples.

"Just give me the strongest thing you've got here." He glanced towards Luffy and Sanji and felt his head start to throb. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples harder. "I'm gonna need it."

**.:.**

There were quite a lot of people in the Seven Pillars and finding one person out of the many would indeed be a difficult task. But if it meant saving himself from utter humiliation in front of Ace and Shanks, Luffy would do anything! The black haired boy stuck his hands into someone's coat pocket and inspected the insides carefully. No pictures. Good. It seemed like Nami hadn't started selling pictures yet… but he had to be alert and make sure that everything in the pub was searched through at least once. The best thing would be if he could find Nami right away and get rid of everything then and there. But… Luffy glanced up as the door of the pub opened and more people entered. At this rate, there would be too many people coming in and he wouldn't have any other chance to find Nami! The boy sucked in a deep breath and blew out slowly, feeling a little more relaxed. Usopp's words, from before they left the academy, started to return to him…

"_Remember," The long nosed boy lifted up his index finger seriously, "When you get there just calm down. I know it's nervous for you, but just take a deep breath and calm down." Usopp smirked confidently, "Now, listen closely. When you calm down, I think finding Nami won't be as hard as it seems. She has orange hair, which most people do not have. So you might be able to just spot her in the crowd. But if that doesn't work…" The boy leaned closer, as if ready to impart an enormous secret, "…if you think about it, Nami's voice is very unique. You can hear her from a mile away. Just concentrate your ears on her voice. I've also heard that she likes to corner people and make deals like that. So, look for people who are more secluded and listen for her voice." Usopp grinned and placed a hand on Luffy's shoulder, "Anyway, I have to go back home tonight_—_something came up, sorry!_—_so I can't accompany you... But I'm sure you can do it by yourself! Just concentrate and relax."_

"Right," Luffy nodded and closed his eyes, relaxing his body and pushing away all of the anxiousness he had been feeling. "Right… now where's Nami…?" As he opened his ears, the boy started to hear and see everything in his mind. He could hear the sounds of ice tinkling against glass, the high shrill laughter of drunk women gossiping to each other in one corner. The guffaws of the men drinking together rang in his ears and he thought he could hear Sanji laughing goofily along with the giggles of sweaty girls. Luffy could hear every pulse of the music and the creaks of the ceiling as people upstairs partied away. He even thought he could hear the distinct low rumble of Zoro humming contently after tasting a good drink. There was the patter of feet on the ground from the dance floor. And then…

"Hey, why don't you take a look at these pictures…?"

Luffy's eyes snapped open and he nearly twisted his neck to face the source of Nami's voice. There! He spotted her! The orange haired girl was leaning across a desk at the back of the room, holding up a packet of pictures for her victim to see. Luffy dashed towards her, ready to leap across the desk and snatch the pictures from her hands. But he abruptly stopped in his tracks as he saw who Nami was about to sell the pictures to. A freckled young man wearing an orange hat and headphones stared at the pictures carefully, with an eyebrow raised thoughtfully. It seemed as if Luffy's mind and body had become constricted. He couldn't move at all. Only his eyes seemed to widen as he watched the man peer at the pictures. Ace…! Ace was looking at the pictures…!

"Hm, this girl looks sort of familiar…" Ace scratched his head, frowning in thought. Nami blinked in slight surprise.

"Familiar…?"

"Mmhmm," The freckled man smiled sheepishly and passed the pictures back, "Sorry, I can't remember who she is. But, she's pretty cute." He blinked once as he noticed someone standing behind the orange haired girl. Wait, that black hair…! And red vest and tattered blue jeans! "Luffy? Hey, Luffy! It's me, big brother!" He waved happily, trying to get the boy's attention. The man swiftly pulled off his headphones and hopped over the desk past Nami, hurrying over to his little brother's side. Ace ruffled Luffy's hair teasingly and grinned down with affection. But then a look of confusion started to cross his face. "Wait, what are you doing in here…? Aren't you underage?"

"Ah…" Luffy could only stare up at his brother with wide eyes, too shocked to even say a word. His brother… had just seen… the pictures… His eyes slowly moved to fix themselves upon Nami, who had spun around when she had heard 'Luffy'. She was frozen to the spot, staring at him in horror. Then, she quickly made to leave the area, tucking the pictures safely away in her pocket and scurrying off towards the crowd of dancing people. That was when Luffy snapped. Ace had already seen it! He couldn't risk Shanks seeing it! He had to do something! The boy's feet did a little scuffle and then he launched himself at the orange haired girl.

Ace's eyes widened in surprise as he watched his little brother ricochet off the ground towards the orange haired girl. What was going on…?

Luffy caught Nami by the legs, bringing her down with him to the ground, and then he pinned her to the floor with his legs so that she couldn't move away. He quickly searched her pockets for the pictures while Nami struggled to get free, slapping at the boy's hands. No way would she let this stupid kid make her lose her business!

"Kyaa! Get away you stupid idiot!" She shouted, and glanced at the crowd of people dancing only a few feet away. The girl cupped her hands around her mouth and screamed, "KYAA! PERVERT!" She started struggling again, trying to wiggle away from the black haired boy. "HELP ME! THERE'S A PERVERT!" The people dancing on the edge of the crowd curiously glanced at the girl and boy on the ground, thrashing wildly. At the bar, Zoro gulped down another glass of alcohol and let out a loud sigh of content, banging down the glass on the counter. He blinked once as he heard Nami's voice and he turned his head to witness Luffy pinning Nami to the ground, furiously searching her pockets for the pictures. It seemed like Luffy had found the orange haired girl… The green haired man sighed and then handed the empty glass to Johnny.

"Yeah, I think I'll have another…"

Luffy ignored Nami's scream and swiftly pulled out a wad of pictures from Nami's right pocket. He smiled victoriously and looked through them. In every frame, he could see Luffia in a cute pose and smiling back brightly. It was either that or a natural shot of him flashing the back of those white panties. The black haired boy grinned and clutched the pictures in his hands before throwing a punch into the air. "Yeah! I did it! I found them!" By now, even the people dancing at the center of the crowd had stopped to watch the strange spectacle taking place on the floor. Sanji glanced over the tops of the crowds' heads and noticed Luffy pinning Nami to the ground.

"Ah? Nami-san!" He felt himself start to fire up. That bastard son of a bitch! How dare he sit on his Nami-swan in such a position? The blonde was about to rush off to the orange haired girl's rescue when a few hands clutched onto his arms and torso tightly.

"Sanji-kun~ I'm scared, there's a pervert in here. Protect me~" One of the girls he had been dancing with looked up at him with watery eyes. The other girls held onto him tightly and he could feel their bodies press up against him. Sanji smiled goofily and his visible eye turned to a heart as he felt his face flush.

"Of course, my ladies~ I'll protect you with my life~!"

The orange haired girl underneath Luffy scowled when she heard no one coming to her rescue. She punched the boy on top of her in the back angrily.

"You moron, give them back to me! Those are my pictures!"

Luffy's head swiveled around and frowned at Nami, "They're not your pictures. They're my pictures! And I won't let you sell them off to people!" The two proceeded to glare at each other furiously. Suddenly, a large hand pulled Luffy off of Nami and set him on his feet. Ace shook his head at his little brother disapprovingly and then went to help Nami to her feet. The orange girl stared at the freckled young man curiously before accepting his hand and standing up. Ace turned to his brother and gestured to Nami.

"Okay, now that you've gotten your pictures back, you should say sorry to the lady for knocking her over." Ace spoke calmly and then watched his little brother with narrowed but expectant eyes. Luffy frowned at first and stared at Nami with a pout on his face. But then he glanced at Ace and sighed. The boy stood up straight, hands aligned with his legs, and then made a deep bow.

"I'm sorry!" He shouted and then straightened again. Ace grinned and walked towards his little brother, patting him on the head.

"That's my little brother…!" The two smiled at each other, chucking happily. Nami's mouth dropped open. What? She hadn't even accepted the apology yet! Why the heck were they so happy all of a sudden? Was this the so-called younger-sibling complex?

Ace pointed at the pictures in the boy's hand and smirked. "So that cute girl in the pictures were you?" Luffy stiffened at that comment and quickly hid the pictures away in his pockets. His brother raised an eyebrow curiously, "What have you been doing, Luffy? Weren't you attending that Academy of Arts here? You've become a model now?"

The black haired boy turned his head away and crossed his arms over his chest, bottom lip jutting out indignantly. "It's all because of Usopp… It's his fault!" But that wasn't exactly true… since he had accepted Usopp's idea in the first place… Ace chuckled and ruffled Luffy's hair, which only caused Luffy to pout further.

"Usopp, huh? Is that your new friend?"

Luffy smiled at that and turned to face his big brother again, "Yeah! He's my new friend and room mate! He's really cool and he's got super aim!"

Ace laughed again and grinned, happy to know that his brother was doing okay by himself. "That's—"

"Sorry to interrupt." Nami butted in. She frowned at the brothers slightly, a hand on her hip. "But, we haven't settled the picture business yet." Luffy and Ace stared at each other in confusion. But weren't the pictures Luffy's? That meant he had the right to take them back and not let her sell them, right? The two stared back at the orange haired girl and she continued seriously, "I took those pictures. So technically, they are mine and not yours. So hand them back. But if you're willing to pay the fees for the developing, I'll let you have them." The girl stretched out her hand, waiting for Luffy to give her the money. "It's a good deal. Nobody will see the pictures and all you have to give me is the price for developing the pictures." The black haired boy put a hand on his pocket protectively and narrowed his eyes at Nami.

"How much do I have to pay…?"

The girl smirked and she closed her eyes before opening them again mischievously. Something in her eyes seemed to be glinting and she spoke with finality. "20,000 illeb."

The brothers' eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Ace's jaw went slack, hanging slightly open. "That's a lot of money to spend on developing pictures!" Luffy's mouth dropped open, wide and gaping.

"She's rich!"

Nami waved her hand, waiting for Luffy to pay up. The boy glanced at his brother for help and the freckled man sighed, searching in his pockets for his wallet. Luffy smiled gratefully and fished around in his own pockets, looking for any bills he might have stuck inside. The two brothers gathered up all of their money in their palms and counted up the change. Ace frowned, "After counting up all of our money, we have a total of…"

"…10, 652 illeb." Luffy finished for his brother. The both of them stared silently at the money in their hands before turning to stare at Nami. The girl could feel her anger rising as she watched their blank looks staring back at her. Ace rubbed the back of his head and laughed apologetically.

"Haha, sorry… we don't have enough to pay full price. Maybe you can give us a discount?" He smiled sheepishly and Luffy smiled at Nami with expectant eyes. The orange haired girl frowned for a moment, thinking it over. Then she grinned slyly and sauntered over, taking the money from their hands.

"Okay, I'll accept this for now." She pocketed the money and listened as the brothers cheered happily. "But!" The girl cut them off again and smiled slyly, "Since you didn't pay the full price, I won't let you have the pictures."

"Wha…?" Luffy's jaw dropped open again, staring at Nami incredulously. He didn't understand her. Didn't she just say she'd let them have the pictures at a discount? Ace frowned and rubbed his chin. It seemed like this girl was up to something… The orange haired girl put both hands on her hips and leaned forward challengingly.

"The amount you paid was enough to buy you a chance to win the pictures from me. But, you have to beat me first." Luffy blinked at her words and then tilted his head to his side.

"You want me to beat you up?" The black haired boy raised an eyebrow curiously. What a strange girl… She wanted him to beat her up. Weird. The corner of Nami's mouth twitched in annoyance.

"No, not literally beat me, you idiot." She stepped back and spread her arms out wide, gesturing to the bar where an oblivious green haired man sat drinking from his glass. "You can challenge me to a drinking contest. Whoever stays conscious the longest wins and the person who wins will get the right to have the pictures." She smirked, confident that she could hold her liquor longer than the black haired boy. Ace's eyes widened and he glanced towards his little brother. Luffy had a confident smirk on his face. Uh oh, this didn't seem good.

The black haired boy grinned and stepped forward, fisting a hand up in front of him. "Okay, I accept the challenge!" Ace reached out to grab his brother's shoulder and pulled the boy around so that they faced each other. He stared at his little brother in concern.

"Wait, Luffy. You shouldn't try this drinking contest. Do you even have someone to take you back to your—" The freckled man's head suddenly hung limply to the side and snores echoed loudly from his prone form. Luffy blinked and then laughed, pulling his big brother towards the desk he had originally been sitting at. Nami, and a few people on the dance floor who were still watching the events between the trio, watched in surprise as Ace snored away on the desk. Luffy moved back towards Nami and grinned brightly, remembering past memories of Ace's narcolepsy problem.

"Silly Ace. Always falling asleep like that." Luffy chuckled and then gave the orange haired girl a fierce smile. "Right then, when shall we start?" Nami fixed her eyes upon Luffy again and her surprised expression quickly fell into a sly grin.

"Let's get the drinks." The two marched towards the bar, followed by a group of interested partiers from the dance floor, and they sat side to side at the counter, grinning confidently at each other. Nami slapped the counter twice, calling Johnny over. Zoro looked up from his glass curiously and nearly choked as he saw Johnny preparing two shots and a bottle of vodka for Luffy and Nami. What was that kid doing? How the hell did 'destroy the pictures' turn into 'let's drink'?

The green haired man reached a hand out to grab the boy. "Oi, Luffy…" Could he even hold his liquor? Who knew what would happen if that boy went drunk on all of them? "Luffy!" The black haired boy lifted a hand up to silence him.

"It's okay, Zoro." Luffy turned his head to grin confidently at him. "I know what I'm doing." And then he turned back, focusing upon the shot of vodka in front of him. Zoro stared at the boy's back, utterly stunned. Then he sighed and filled up another glass for himself. Well, if Luffy said that he'd be okay… But he'd still keep a steady eye on the boy. Just in case.

Nami lifted the small glass up to her eyes and she smirked at the boy sitting beside her, "No turning back now, Luffy_-kun_."

Luffy picked up his own glass and readied it in front of his lips. "Bring it on." And then, they gulped down the vodka at the same time. The two simultaneously slammed their small glasses down on the counter quickly, smirking and glaring at each other. A crowd surrounded them and they whooped, cheering the two competitors on. Johnny felt a bead of sweat run down his head as he filled up their cups steadily and watched them down the vodka again. Hopefully, they wouldn't get too wild.

**.:.**

"Heh," Nami scowled, shoving her glass in front of her opponent's face, "Ready to give up yet, ya sissy boy?" She downed the drink and slammed it on the table, waiting for it to refill. Luffy gulped down his glass quickly and then let out a loud sigh before laughing wildly while holding his cup out to Johnny.

"In yuur dreamsss… cweepy gurl!"

Zoro watched silently as Luffy and Nami made it to their twelfth drink. The boy's face had already flushed pink about nine drinks ago. It was a wonder why he hadn't fainted over yet. The green haired man sighed, wondering whether or not he should stop Luffy soon. But, if he stopped the boy now, wouldn't the pictures belong to Nami? And then Luffy's pride would be crushed and he'd be all depressed again… Zoro gave a soft humph and crossed his arms over his chest in frustration, watching Luffy in concealed concern. He had no idea what to do in this situation…

Luffy drank his thirteenth shot of vodka. He swiped a hand across his mouth messily and could feel his vision swirling. He smacked his head and his eyes lolled about dizzily. Damn, how long would Nami last? No matter what, he had to get those pictures. But, Nami wasn't giving any signs that she had reached her limit yet. He nearly keeled back but a hand on his back steadied him. Who was behind him again…? Oh, right… it was Zoro. Speaking of Zoro… The boy drunk another glass and lifted the small cup up to the ceiling, "Dammit, Zoroooo! Why won you say you waantss me? You belongs to meeee!" He slammed his glass down on the table and waited for the glass to refill. The green haired man sitting behind him tensed immediately. The group surrounding the drinking contest had grown larger now and they all turned to stare at Zoro curiously. The green haired man could feel his cheeks flushing and he growled under his breath angrily.

"You idiot, you're drunk…"

Nami smirked and raised her cup up to her lips, finishing off the alcohol before slamming it down on the counter. "You think I'll lose to you? Okay, here I go!" She sucked in a breath and started shouting at the top of her lungs, "Sanji, you big ass retard! How dare you kish me! How'd chu know my weakness?"

Zoro felt a bead of sweat run down his head as he heard Nami's confession to having a weakness. What the hell was this turning to…? A few meters away, Sanji stood in the midst of girls and his ears picked up Nami's voice.

"What…?" His eyes widened. Usopp had been telling the truth? The girls surrounding him grabbed him and pouted seductively.

"Sanji-kun? What's wrong…?"

The blonde smiled down at them and gently removed their hands. "I'm sorry, ladies. Unfortunately, I must part from your lovely company... There is something I must take care of." And then he slipped away through the crowd, leaving the girls pouting after him. The blonde made his way towards the large group surrounding two people. He pushed through and noticed Luffy and Nami sitting next to each other, drinking like there was no tomorrow. Sanji frowned. Nami was too drunk to know what she was saying or doing. He had to do something to stop them…!

Luffy stood up abruptly and closed his eyes, flipping his head back while downing the glass of alcohol. Then, he spun around on his toes and pounced into Zoro's lap, wrapping his arms and legs around the man's torso before the man could do anything about it. "Ohhh, I knows now…! Zorooo! I haf to kish you againnn-nuh…! Riiight? To seal our rehalionship! Hu hu. Okay, I start now… Muuuuu…" The boy puckered up his lips and closed his eyes, moving his head forward, trying to make a proper landing on Zoro's lips. The green haired man quickly held his hands up, pushing the boy's head away. The man fought back aggressively while blushing brightly the entire time. The boy was way too drunk! Zoro grit his teeth and took a peek at the boy's face. All Zoro could see of the boy were his puckered lips and black hair poking through his fingers. It was such a stupid sight…! "Muu? Muu…! Muuu….!" Luffy voiced, a bead of sweat running down his head as he tried his best to kiss the green haired man he had wrapped his arms and legs around.

Nami watched the two males furiously and stood up from her seat as well. She chugged her glass and practically threw it at the counter. Then, she swayed dangerously but quickly stilled herself. "That's not fair! You're not suppose' too go kish Zorooo! Ashhole! Dammit, I won loose to youu, little brat!" Her quickly blurring vision searched the crowd of people warily before landing upon a certain blonde haired man. She pointed at him and started walking towards him angrily, "Youuu! Youuu! You kish me and I kish youus!" The orange haired girl felt her head swirl and throb. Her eyes felt so heavy and she could feel her feet starting to go slack from all the liquor she had consumed. "Damn… youse, Sanji…! I want...! I... want..." And then she tripped forward, towards the floor. A pair of strong arms caught her quickly before she fell on her face. Sanji held the girl in his arms and watched her worriedly. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing deeply, as if in a deep sleep. She had been completely knocked out by the alcohol. The blonde haired man sighed and clutched the girl to him, gently cradling her.

"Oi, Marimo." He spoke in a low voice, staring down at the girl in his arms in concern. "I think I'll head back. You take care of Luffy."

Zoro peered over Luffy's head and noticed Nami collapsed against Sanji. The green haired man nodded and watched as the blonde easily swept the girl up in his arms and started out the entrance of the Seven Pillars. Zoro didn't have to worry about Nami being taken advantage of by Sanji because the blonde—although the green haired man was reluctant to admit—was a gentleman. He suddenly noticed that the pressure against his hands had stopped and he turned his attention to the boy in his lap. Luffy's lips had relaxed from its puckered form and it seemed as if the boy had fallen unconscious as well. Zoro smirked. "Well, looks like you won, Luffy. The pictures are yours…" And now that the mission was finally over, he should get the boy back to school…

The previous crowd, who had been watching and cheering on the two young competitors, had slowly dispersed now, seeing that there was nothing interesting to watch anymore. Zoro stood up, glad that there were relatively few people at the bar again, and he pulled the boy away from his torso. Luffy fell forward and the green haired man let the boy lean limply against his chest. The boy groaned and then, as if in a last attempt, his lips puckered up and planted a gentle kiss on Zoro's shirt. The green haired man smiled slightly at the soft touch on his chest. It was almost… cute. But then, he quickly frowned, remembering that he had to get the unconscious boy back to school. This would prove to be a difficult task… How should he do it…? He couldn't just pick the boy up like Sanji did to Nami… Should he just throw the boy over his shoulder?

"Okay, Luffy." Zoro grabbed the boy by his arms and moved him across the floor. It seemed like a good idea for a few seconds, but then Luffy's dragging feet started to greatly slow the process of getting to the entrance door. The green haired man growled in annoyance. At this pace, it'd take the entire morning just to get back to the school! He grabbed the boy by the middle and simply tossed Luffy over his shoulder. Then, he held the boy awkwardly around the waist, hoping he wouldn't slip off. This was seriously embarrassing. Never had he had to carry a person out of a bar on his shoulder…! But… whatever. Nothing mattered anymore… He had gotten himself too involved with the crazy black haired boy. It was too late to back out now… The green haired man waved to Johnny and rubbed his temples. Then, he pushed open the door of the pub, allowing the crisp city air to flow into his lungs. The city lights were still bright as ever and the moon was now directly above them, glowing eerily against the dark clouds in the sky. "Must be around one o'clock now…" Zoro mused to himself, shifting his shoulder and bringing his free arm up to secure Luffy's legs so that the boy didn't slip off from his shoulder. The man glanced down the street and then started heading towards the tall silver structure in the distance. It was about time they went home…

**.:.**

Zoro stopped in front of a wall and cursed, studying the obstacle carefully, wondering why it had suddenly appeared when he had turned. Wasn't there supposed to be another road? He frowned at the wall and shifted the weight on his shoulders agitatedly. The boy wasn't really heavy, but having someone lying on one's shoulder wasn't very comfortable… The green haired man turned around and trekked back down the street he had just walked in. Then, he stopped in his tracks and sighed in relief as he found the silver building of the Academy of Arts looming in front of him on the other side of the road. The man glanced to the stars and noticed that the moon had moved towards the horizon already. "Is it already that late…?" He scratched his short green hair and then grabbed Luffy's legs before jogging across the street towards the glass door entrance. The boy's head bobbed along with every step Zoro took.

In a few steps, the green haired man had crossed through the empty street, dimly lit by the few street lamps on the sidewalk, and shoved his way in through the front doors of Lohm City's Academy of Arts. He hastily bounded down the white hallway to the right, which was illuminated by the fluorescent lights along the edges of the ceiling, and he wondered where in the hell he should take the boy draped over his shoulder. He could try and bring the wasted kid back to the boy's own dorm room… but his room mate said he wouldn't be in tonight, right? It would be a bad idea to bring him to the infirmary, too. Not only would Luffy get in trouble, but he would be in trouble as well. Then, was the only choice to bring the black haired boy back to his own room…? Zoro sighed heavily, head almost sinking down to his chest at the thought of having to take care of the idiot at this time of the night. His eyes glanced towards the slumbering boy for a few seconds before he sighed again, a little less heavy. Then, the man lifted his head up and positioned Luffy's body so that it felt more comfortable on his shoulder.

As he neared the elevators, Zoro started to notice a few strange presences surrounding him. His mouth twitched down slightly, in a small frown. This aura. It didn't feel good. Zoro calmly feinted ignorance, waiting patiently for the group of people to make their next move. He continued to walk towards the elevators, but his muscles were tensing and his senses were all on alert. The strange aura did not waver and his eyes narrowed. He wasn't sure what their motives were, but they were obviously following him. And coming closer by the second. He slowed to a stop in front of the elevator and pressed the up button while cautiously glancing up and down the hallway. There was no one in sight. The halls were completely empty. Zoro frowned deeply. That was strange... and for some reason… he couldn't sense the intimidating aura from before anymore.

Suddenly, the lights in the hall flickered out all at once. Zoro spun around on his heels in surprise. "What?" He grit his teeth and stared at the ceiling and the walls, scanning the empty hallway over and over with his eyes. He had heard rumors about this happening before... rumors of students who had stayed out of the dorms for too late and had met up with trouble. The most common trait these night-life students shared was that they were usually found in the hallway so badly beaten that they would not be able to attend classes for weeks. The second most common trait shared between all these victimized students was that they all said the same thing: that they met up with a group of strangely cloaked and masked looking people before blacking out from pain. This group of people was acknowledged throughout the school as the CP9, the name of the alliance who upheld the rules of the school by beating students into submission. The man's eyes grew sharp. Would he be meeting the famed CP9 tonight? His eyes shot towards the drunken boy balanced on his shoulder. Shit… if it really were the CP9, how was he going to fight properly with the kid all vulnerable and unable to protect himself from harm?

A dark shadow flashed near the edge of his eyesight and Zoro quickly spun around to block a blow with his free arm. He growled dangerously and swiftly blocked the next few hits aimed towards his head and legs. They were planning to either knock him out or bring him down to his feet and beat him up while he was caught off guard! But he wouldn't let them… The green haired man smirked and spotted a few dark shadows flittering around in the darkness. _I can see them…!_ He targeted one of the moving shadows and, without a moment's hesitation, threw a heavy punch towards the spot the shadow was heading towards. Just as his fist was about to connect with the shadow, they quickly maneuvered away from the blow and the flurry of shadows came to a stop, revealing three separate people, wearing different patterned cloaks and large masks that hid their entire face and hair from view. They stood around Zoro at three points, as if enclosing him in an imaginary triangular cage.

"CP9, eh…?" The green haired man smirked and watched each of the cloaked figures warily. Would they make the first move...? Right at that moment, he felt the boy on his shoulder start to stir. Zoro blinked in surprise, impulsively taking his eyes off of his opponents to glance at the black haired boy. Luffy was waking up _now_?

"Nnn…" Luffy rubbed his eyes with balled up hands, much like a child would after they had woken from a long nap, "Nnn?" He stared at the green hair floating nearby his face. "Zooorooo…?"

Zoro, startled by Luffy's sudden awakening, had lost his concentration for a split second. "Luf—!" A heavy impact landed in his abdomen, sending all of the air in his lungs out. His hold on Luffy's waist loosened and the boy fell to the ground while the man flew across the floor, slamming into the wall with tremendous force. He coughed and gasped for air, ignoring the excruciating pain throbbing at his stomach. Zoro held a hand over the point of impact and his eyes narrowed dangerously at the flickering shadows moving swiftly in the darkness. "Luffy… be careful… these guys… are pretty strong." He coughed again but kept his gaze directed at the shadows.

Luffy slowly stood up and wobbled a few times, glancing around himself as if he were in a daze. Zoro noticed the boy's strange behavior and lifted an eyebrow. "Luffy…?"

"AHAHAHA!" The black haired boy suddenly burst into laughter. He took a few wobbly steps forward, zigzagging towards the green haired man. "Zoro frying like a butterrrd… hic!"

Zoro's eyes grew wide. "What…?" One of the shadows dashed towards Luffy and he hastily lunged towards the boy. "Get down, you idiot!" He pushed Luffy down to the ground, just in time to feel the powerful blow skim harmlessly over the top of his hair. The boy underneath him giggled goofily and clamped his hands around the man's face.

"Zoro want muu muuuu again? Shi shi shi… hic!"

Zoro's mouth nearly dropped open and his pupils almost rolled backwards in his eye sockets. The kid was still drunk? He felt a strong gust of air coming towards his back. Damn it! This was not the time to be carelessly surprised by Luffy's antics! He pushed Luffy to the side while jumping away right before a leg with heels embedded into the floor, causing cracks in the ground. The green haired man scowled. That was some mighty kick… and it was a woman…? Or a man who liked to wear heels? Zoro shuddered at the thought and quickly dodged another blow aimed towards him. His eyes shot towards the drunken Luffy, wondering if he was okay, and found the boy slumped on the ground, laughing hysterically. One of the shadows were speeding towards the boy and Zoro felt his heart quicken, beating fearfully in his chest. He sprinted to Luffy with all his might, but the distance was too far. He wouldn't make it in time…!

"LUFFY!" A blur from his right hit him square across the cheek, sending his entire head reeling to the side. A sting from the inside of his cheek told him that he had ripped his cheek open on his teeth. The man landed safely on his feet and spit out the blood pooling into his mouth. He glared at the shadows angrily, momentarily forgetting why he had gotten punched in the first place. Then, he remembered. Luffy! Was he okay? Two shadows teamed up on him before he could see if Luffy was all right and he managed to block all of the fast blows with his arms. He peeked through his defense to find Luffy on the floor, unscathed. What…? How was Luffy not hurt?

A fist suddenly entered through his defense and punched him in the chest, sending him into the wall again. He groaned from the impact and shook his head to clear his mind. Before he could get back to his feet, the heeled foot he had seen before had kicked him hard in the chest, nearly cracking his rib bones. He braced himself, expecting the person to kick him some more. But nothing came. The heel that had kicked him was still placed forcefully on his chest—so that he was pinned against the wall—but it was not moving to hurt him. What was going on? He panted for breath, glancing at his opponent in confusion. The masked person was staring over their shoulder, gazing in the direction of Luffy. Zoro frowned slightly and tried to inch away, but the foot pressed harder into his ribs, the heel embedding painfully in his stomach. He stopped and opted to see what had made the person stop in their attack.

Luffy was up on his shaky feet, wobbling this way and that, smiling in a silly way. The two other masked strangers were facing against him, standing cautiously away from the black haired boy. One of the attacker's masks had been slightly chipped. Zoro's eyes widened. Had Luffy done that…? How? When?

"Luff—!" Just as he spoke, the person with heels sent a kick towards his groin, causing him to shut up immediately. Zoro held his breath tightly, waiting for the burning pain to ebb away, and he glared furiously at the person pinning him against the wall. This person was definitely a woman. No rightful man would _ever_ make a blow aimed towards _that_ place… The green haired man silently turned his eyes to watch Luffy, hoping that the cracked mask was not a fluke and that Luffy would be able to protect himself, even in his drunken state.

Luffy's vision swirled and he tried to get a good footing within all the swirling. But no matter how he stood, everything just looked nauseating…! Yet even with the swirling scenery, he felt… strangely relaxed…! The boy laughed giddily and pointed towards the two masked strangers standing before him. "You err…. sunky…? Nerr… hunky? Err… grunky…? Nerr… nerr…" Luffy dangerously swerved to the right, nearly dipping down to the ground. "Monkey! Hee hee." He grinned, pointing happily at the strangers. "Funky punky monkey!"

Zoro felt his hopes sink. Luffy was in no condition at all to fight…!

The strangers, as if stirred by the comment Luffy had sent towards them, disappeared from sight. One of them reappeared behind Luffy, aiming a fast punch at the back of Luffy's head. But the boy bent forward, momentarily falling asleep. The second person aimed a blow upwards into Luffy's face, going for a broken nose. But the boy pulled himself backwards fluidly, gracefully dodging the attack by a hair. Luffy opened his eyes and blinked a few times. "Naa…hic?" He straightened his body as a kick aimed at his head came down on him. "Aha ha! Tha's denjaruss…hic!"

Zoro blinked in surprise, staring at the black haired boy in confusion. Wait… was that just a lucky move? Or did he…? As the fight carried on, with the attackers showering Luffy with endless amounts of attacks and Luffy dodging every attack by a nanosecond, Zoro began to wonder if maybe Luffy had been holding back on how great of a fighter he actually was. His movements were deliberate, albeit sloppy from the alcohol in his system, and he looked almost like a blade of grass in violent winds, buffeting this way and that, but never being harmed. Who was he? Where had he come from? Why had he suddenly enrolled into the Academy of Arts at this time, when classes had already started a few weeks ago? The foot that was on his chest released him and he saw the woman head towards Luffy as well, teaming up with her team mates to fight against Luffy. But even with the additional member, the black haired boy carelessly dodged through all of their attacks. Zoro watched Luffy in awe, wondering how long the boy could keep up his defense. And then suddenly, the boy laughed and grabbed one of the masked people's arms and tossed him into the other two members, sending all three of them flying into the wall. Luffy laughed and pointed at them mockingly. "Ever bodies press wall…!" The boy bounded towards the trio and lined himself against the wall, positioning himself so that he looked like an Egyptian painting. "Neehee! Mee tooo…hic!"

Zoro shook his head sadly. If only the boy weren't drunk he would be the perfect picture of a great fighter. No wait… even if he weren't drunk, the man was sure that the boy would still be doing something stupid… Zoro sighed heavily but then gave a small smile at the drunken boy. It looked like everything would be okay.

The three masked people quickly got back to their feet and simultaneously sent their angry attacks towards Luffy. But the boy merely ducked down, giggling, and the enemies hit their team members with each other's punches and kicks. Luffy then sprang up while spinning around on his toes, yelling, "Gomu Gomu no Sprinnnnng!" He poised himself like a super hero flying through the air, and sent all three attackers backwards by the force of his strange attack. The people landed on their feet, watching Luffy warily from a few feet away. Then, the person with the chipped mask made a little gesture with their finger and the three of them jumped away, disappearing in the shadows. Zoro smirked, glad that Luffy had taken care of them. But then a frown quickly replaced the smirk as he thought about how he had been so useless just now… if only he had his swords, he definitely would have beaten them! No... even without swords he should have been able to handle them. It just showed that he needed more training...

Luffy stumbled towards the green haired man, smiling widely and unaware of the man's internal dilemna. "Zoroooo…!" The boy's slurred yet giddy voice brought him from his thoughts and the man jumped in surprise when the boy suddenly lunged face first towards him. Zoro was tackled around the middle of his waist, his breath knocked out of his lungs (again) from being shoved against the wall so abruptly, and the two fell to the floor in a messy pile of limbs.

"Ugh, damn it, Luffy...!" Zoro groaned and raised a hand up to rub the new bruise forming on the back of his head. He scowled down at the drunken boy, about to reprimand him with a, "What the hell are you doing?" But the words died in his throat as he stared at the mop of messy black hair buried against his abdomen. The boy's movements were suddenly all too still and the surroundings were falling eerily silent. And why did Luffy seem so small and vulnerable now...?

"Does... Zoro not like me?" He could feel a slight trembling from where Luffy's hands clutched into the folds of his shirt. "I want Zoro to like me..." The man gulped and his muscles went tense. What the heck was this? Luffy was still drunk... wasn't he? So this was also part of his drunkenness? Zoro continued to give the top of Luffy's hair a wide-eyed stare, unsure of what to do. His entire body was frozen in place, arms stiff by his sides, and all he could do was listen to the boy's oddly soft voice mumble warm words into his stomach.

Luffy kept his eyes closed, pressing his face deeply against Zoro's firm body. What did he just say? That he wanted Zoro to like him? Ah... yes, he did want that. The boy smiled and nuzzled his face into the heat coming off from the man's body. It felt so good...! But... Zoro still denied the fact that they had kissed. Suddenly, all the worries that he had pushed to the back of his mind came flooding in, overtaking any other thoughts. "Zoro... why?" Why wouldn't he admit it? "Do you really not like me?" Was he so not likeable to Zoro that the magic in the promise had been cancelled between them? "Do you really, really... not like me?" Was it even possible to cancel a promise like that? And if it was cancelled, why did it still feel so good to hold him like this? "I don't want it to go away! I... really like these feelings... that only Zoro gives me..." But shouldn't all the weird feelings be gone if there was no more magic? "Why are they still there if Zoro doesn't like-?" A comfortable weight on his head suddenly cut him off and his thoughts halted at the tingling touch of fingers weaving through his hair.

"Idiot." Zoro's deep voice came floating down from somewhere above him, "If I didn't like you, you think I'd still bother to be here with you? Moron..." He felt the large hands tousle his hair roughly and Luffy couldn't help but giggle happily at the feeling. So Zoro... did like him!

Hearing Luffy's laughter, Zoro sighed in relief. His face had gone burning bright red from hearing Luffy's roundabout way of confessing-it _was_ basically a confession, wasn't it?-and he kept his face turned away, not daring to look in the direction of the boy. Geez, he had listened to people confess to him in the past but the way this kid worded everything... even if he was completely drunk off his ass, it sounded so honest and innocent. In fact, did Luffy even understand what his words meant? It was all so unbelievably cute...! Zoro smacked the back of his head against the wall behind him. Damn it! He clenched his eyes shut for a moment to calm the blush in his face. It was a good thing Luffy didn't go around saying things like that to just anyone... who knew what kind of people would take advantage of that naivety? He sighed and then finally turned to look at the boy who still had his head nestled against his stomach. Zoro smiled. When did this guy start growing on him so much? It had only been a day since they'd met, right? _Just_ a day. Yet it suddenly felt like he'd known him for longer than that. He tousled the boy's hair again and his heart warmed at the sound of Luffy's happy giggle. The two fell into a comfortable second of silence. Then, he heard Luffy gasp.

"Ahhh! I know now...!" He lifted his hand from the boy's head when he moved.

"Hm?"

Luffy sluggishly brought his head up and then clumsily pulled himself to a sitting position by hooking his hands into Zoro's shirt. His vision was still swirling a bit but he could pinpoint the green haired man's eyes staring back at him quizzically. He had been thinking about it for a while now. The boy gave Zoro a blinding and silly grin, "Because Zoro won't admit the first kiss, this time it's my turn to promise instead. I'll belong to Zoro! And then that way, we can still be together for a long long time, neehee."

Zoro felt his ears grow hot. Oh god, what the hell was this now? There was something seriously strange about Luffy. He would _belong_ to him? They would be _together_? How could he say such embarrassing things so easily? And wait, shouldn't he be feeling more creeped out than embarrassed? Stalkers also said things like this, didn't they? So why didn't he seem to feel as bothered as he should be?

Luffy had his lips puckered up again. "Now to make the promise...!" Zoro heard the boy chirp and then lean forward. Before he could react, Luffy planted a soft and sweet peck on the corner of his mouth. The boy had swayed a little bit too much to the left and had missed the man's lips by only a few millimeters. But that still did the trick. Zoro felt a pleasant prickling sensation shoot up his scalp, sparked by the light touch from Luffy's lips, and his face bloomed into color again when he saw the look of bliss on Luffy's face after pulling away.

"Yep, this is the feeling...!" Luffy smiled to himself in pure joy, basking in the warm static running all across his body. "It's magic! Shi shi shi, I belong to you now, Zoro!" The man could only stare awestruck at the beautiful smile directed his way. It was that same sincere and carefree smile he had seen the night before, when Luffy had been standing on the arena stage. Except it was now ten times closer. Not to mention a thousand times more heart-warming. For the first time in his life, Zoro thought he might faint. The man lifted a hand up to cover his eyes, groaning weakly. There was something wrong with him this night. Maybe he was also a bit drunk as well. Or perhaps it was sleep deprivation...

Yeah... it was probably sleep deprivation.

"Zoroooo...!" Luffy called to him and Zoro tilted his face in the boy's direction to show he was listening. He didn't dare lift his hand from his face, especially if Luffy was about to say some more embarrassing things while smiling at him like that.

He managed a short and gruff sounding, "W-What...?"

"Zorooo... I think..." The boy's voice fell to that same uncharacteristically soft tone from a few minutes ago and the man slowly pulled down his hand, glancing curiously through his fingers. Was there something else bothering him?

"I think... I need to go to the bathroom."

Zoro nearly fell over. "W-What?" His hand flopped down immediately and he found Luffy's eyes screwed together in discomfort. When the boy's hands reached downwards, he began to panic. Oh hell no...

"Zoroooo! I need to gooo! I'm about to burst...!" Luffy whined desperately, clutching onto his crotch with firm fingers. "Take me to the bathroom! I don't know where it is...! Zoroooo!"

"Oh, fuck!" The green haired man shot up from the floor and glanced up and down the hallways, mind completely jumbled from all the unexpected events. "Hold it in, Luffy! You _**have**_ to hold it in! There should be a bathroom in this hallway..." But which direction was it again? Left? Right?

"Zoroooo!"

The man grit his teeth together and then let out a frustrated growl. "Shit!" He turned towards the right and set his foot down in finality. This was the right direction. He just knew it. "Okay, Luffy. Follow me! We're going this way." He began pacing down the corridor at a rapid speed and Luffy followed behind, dancing on his toes with urgency. In a matter of seconds, they came to an abrupt halt and Luffy peered around a motionless Zoro to see if they had made it to the bathroom yet. Several meters ahead stood the front glass doors and a few feet to the right sat the empty reception desk.

The boy moaned and gripped his crotch harder, "Zoro? Why did we go back to the school entrance!"

"Hold on a little longer...!" Zoro returned in a clipped voice.

"I caaaan't! I have to goooo!" Luffy cried back. Zoro ground his teeth together. Damn it! Of all the times for the school to play tricks on him...! His eyes flashed towards Luffy. There was no other way. With a mighty scoop of his arms, the man lifted the boy up under the arms and legs.

"Z-Zoro...?" Luffy yelped at the sudden action. His bladder was already threatening to burst and the abrupt movement didn't do much to help. While clenching both hands between his legs, the boy managed to send the man a confused look. "What are you-?" Then, quicker than any human eye could catch up with, Zoro began sprinting back down in the direction they came from. Luffy flinched at every bouncing step the man took. "Ungh! Z-Zoro..! This... this is a really bad position...! It feels like it's going to come out faster...!"

Zoro's face was stony and determined. His eyes targeted the walls straight ahead, searching for the bathrooms that were sure to come around at any moment. "Hold it in, Luffy! You just have to hold it in...! We'll get there, all right?"

Luffy screwed his eyes together shut as another motion threatened him to lose control. "O-Okay, I'll try... just... hurry!"

The man continued down the straight path, cold sweat beading on every muscle of his body. At another insistent whine of, "Zoroooo," he grunted out impatiently, "Shut up, Luffy, we'll get there...! We're almost there, okay?" His eyes were still trained on the walls, nearly going cross-eyed from attempting to focus on everywhere at once. "We're almost-!" The familiar silver plaque of the male stick figure flew past his field of vision and Zoro immediately skidded to a stop, turning almost in mid-air to run back. Yes! A bathroom...! "Luffy! I found one... just keep holding it, okay? Almost there!" He lifted his leg to kick open the door but when his foot made contact, he felt his calf muscles rumble with a dreadful feeling.

The door wasn't giving way.

"Oh, no you don't..." Zoro half-laughed, half-yelled at the bathroom door. He gave it a heavier kick and still it didn't give way. He kicked it until there were welts in it from the heel of his boot and yet it still wouldn't open. It couldn't be... the bathrooms were locked at this time of the night...?

"Z-...Z-Zoro... I can't... anymore...!" Luffy's pitiful whimpering came from his arms and Zoro looked down at him, a helpless look in his eyes. The boy was viciously gnawing on his bottom lip, obviously trying very hard to hold it all in. "Can't... can't we just...? ...go to... one of the walls...? One that no one will... n-notice...?"

Zoro's eyebrow twitched violently at the thought of someone peeing on the corridor walls of the famous Academy of Arts. But then again, what other choice was there...? Wait. There was still...!

"Wait, Luffy. I think we can still make it to a bathroom on time. Just hold on a little longer, all right?"

"Hngh..." Was all Luffy could say back as he nodded weakly and held his crotch until his knuckles turned white.

**.:.**

"_Haaaah~_"

An audible and breathy sigh of relief thrummed from behind a thin bathroom door. Several long seconds afterward, the flushing sound of the toilet and the _fffssshhh!_ sound of sink water running came echoing along the walls. Zoro sat on the edge of his bed, hunched over in exhaustion and with his head buried deep in his hands. This had to be one of the craziest days he had ever had while living in Lohm City: the cafeteria was constantly chaotic now, the first half of sparring class had been absolutely absurd, there was Luffy's creepy bout of depression and the school chores to take care of. Then, there was the destruction of the 'Luffia' pictures plan and the drinking contest, his first meeting with CP9 and then... the kiss (almost) ... On top of all that, he had sprinted with Luffy in his arms all over the first floor just to find an open bathroom cubicle for him to pee in. Zoro fisted his hands together and smacked his own forehead with it several times. What the hell was with all this? His life had been simple before: wake up, train, eat, train some more, occasionally go to classes, then go back to sleep. How did it suddenly get so hectic?

"Zoro?" He heard Luffy call out and immediately his thoughts were answered. That kid was the cause of all the new and strange events happening around him. The man didn't bother to respond to the boy, he merely shook his head back and forth. Not hearing any reply, Luffy's head peeped out from the bathroom door by his own accord and the boy stared at the man sitting on the edge of the bed. Then he stuck his tongue out, as if he had eaten something disgusting.

"Your sense of direction **sucks**."

Zoro's cheeks tinted a deep pink from embarrassment. "Shut up..." The bathroom door closed with a soft _shhuup!_ and Luffy bounded closer towards the man, face nearly glowing from satisfaction. The boy grinned happily and then leaped forward, arms catching around Zoro's torso again, which elicited an awkward, "Argh?" from the green haired man. The two fell backwards onto the bed and the boy immediately rushed to snuggle closer, locking his legs along both sides of the man's waist.

"But it's okay, I still like Zoro! Neehee." Luffy rubbed his face against Zoro's chest and sighed happily into it. "Thanks... hmm... for taking me... to... mm..." He followed that with a wide yawn, sinking-if possible-further into the body beneath him. Zoro stiffened, having little time to do anything else, and he stared down at the warm bundle wrapped around him. He was about to fling Luffy off of him and kick him out the door but... The boy was looking sleepier and sleepier, eyelids drooping shut, blinking, then shutting again. The man breathed out a small huff of air, then let his head fall backwards into his sheets.

"Ugh... whatever." He was too tired to care anymore. Besides... staying like this wasn't too bad either. He closed his eyes and threw his arms out carelessly over the bed. Relaxed under Luffy's steady breathing, he also let out a loud yawn and then sighed. "Night, Luffy."

"Night..." He heard the boy mumble lazily back. A small smile spread across his lips. Seconds later, the two fell into a deep and peaceful slumber, uninterrupted by any stray thoughts of the past or future. They simply slept. And soon, the soft rays of dawn peeked in through the room's white window blinds, signaling the beginning of a new day.

**.:.**


End file.
